Quote of the Day – Justice William O. Douglas
December 21st, 2008 by Syd
Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will — Justice William O. Douglas
Sorry, that quote is from Frederick Douglass, the great anti-slavery advocate.
I saw George Galloway this week in the news. He’s a British elected official, loves muslim issues to the point where he went to Egypt and donated millions of dollars and a hundred vehicules to HAMAS. In a nutshell, he is now banned from entering Canada to speak at a University meeting.
Now, if I truely support free speech, I would allow this guy into my country, right?
Then again, I look to Britain and I wonder why Hizbut Tarir hasn’t been banned yet (it’s a group which openly supports terrorist activities, saying they’re “freedom fighters”).
The conclusion I come to these days, which is subject to evolve, is that Propaganda is effective. If you keep them underground, they recruit in small numbers. If you let them reach national tv, they have access to millions.
That being said, I agree that without a conflict, without sides pitted against each other, there is no truth. There is no growth.
I like the quote, whoever said it.