Watch now | “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.” —Thoreau | “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” —Camus
It’s the G O D! His morality is intrinsically entwined with our laurels. Our liberties waver the further we get away from His truths. This Jerry Springer Circus we live in is going to get worse until we repent.
Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves
and those we love.
-….. MAA I felt convicted on that quote . Fantastic stack MAA thank u . 🙏💜⚔️
That was so powerful! I really didn’t have teachers of that magnitude during my university days--1969-72. I started out as PreMed at the Univ of Rochester, NY and ended up in English literature. I remember so well the upper levels of the Rush Rhees Library, referred to as the stacks, near the bell tower where I would study on occasion. Few folks ventured up there. I could feel the history and the power of the ancient texts. I loved the quiet. That was shocking what you experienced with your good friend regarding the destruction of those books/manuscripts. (Twenty years later I did secure a degree at a Community College in NYS and became an RN and did have a couple of professors that were stellar and had acquired wisdom).
This is a thoughtfully brilliant lesson in speaking up despite the possible cost; and the video production is top notch. It must have taken a great deal of effort to complete and I thank you for making that effort.
Madame, I feel led to commit some of what I am thinking to words. Your description of the courageous person is accurate. However, sometimes those traits take time to express. Ethical dilemmas are not always black and white right away. Sometimes they take some ruminating before the picture resolves itself into focus, then your will to action becomes manifest like iron. Once this occurs, your will becomes like granite. As time passes, you exercise this like a muscle, and it becomes stronger and faster.
I'm a nobody, a senior citizen (I hate that term). About fifteen or twenty years ago the insurance companies, the government and thus the medical offices and hospitals began telling patients that they had to hand over their driver license to be copied and added to their medical records in order to check in for an appointment. Also about that time, patients' medical records had to become digital, electronic, instead of on paper in a file in the office in the building. That's when my personal hell began for each time I arrived for my appointment I would have to have an argument with the office woman when I told her I would not let her copy my ID. I have had to endure many unpleasant encounters with these "nazis" , these"Your papers, please" jerks and I'm damn sick of it at this point. I hate going to medical appointments to begin with and now I am being made physically ill due to the additional harassments.
Beautiful in 3 forms ~ the words printed/read, listened to from your recording and now the visuals accompanying so glorious this triptych all moving and alive, thank you. The best writing reverberates through time, maintains, sustains ~ as yours certainly does. 🙏🕊️
I’ve never seen anyone talk about Ordinary Men before. I read that 25 years ago, and it opened to my eyes to why the people of Germany joined and fought as Nazis.
I think part of courage is being emotionally open which means being able to cry without shame, to feel sad spontaneously and not fight it. And to be joyous for no reason. It seems many people are sort of emotionally limited. Here's to courage.
I can't describe how deeply your poem hit my soul. It made me feel sad that I never encountered such a mentor. The closest is my father who refuses to bow to any authority and has no problem speaking his mind.
My other mentors, mostly men, are truthtellers and have integrity in spades, demonstrating courage to speak the elephant in the room, challenge authority, say NO and not acquiesce to ridiculous demands.
All the women mentors in my life required submission and were destructive in their leadership. Interesting.
Margaret, another good example of moral courage is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He had a perfect opportunity to escape the Nazi steamroller but he felt God tug him to return to Germany during the midstage of the Reich's machinations. His famous quote stands out clearly: “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” Many Christians have questioned his peripheral involvement in the attempt to assassinate Hitler--but clearly when evidence was presented to him of what was occuring, he willing participated. I believe he likely perceived that many within the church would never understand what He did, but clearly he was driven by a moral purpose of right from wrong. I recommend the lengthy Metaxis biography.
Your post, poem, and video are stunning, beautiful, necessary... Thank you, Margaret Anna Alice. I look forward to sharing this with my friends and family who had their moral courage tested and strengthened these past few years. I will also share your post with those I know who may be inspired to look within and discover their own latent courage.
The Marcus A. quote “If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.” is stunningly blue-collar-blunt in its simplicity and wisdom.
If I may, I'd like to add another angle. What makes the sort of person discussed is often something as elementary as an aversion to being made a fool of; to be lied to ... which of course, goes hand in hand with a disgust of lies, the Big Lie and injustice.
It’s the G O D! His morality is intrinsically entwined with our laurels. Our liberties waver the further we get away from His truths. This Jerry Springer Circus we live in is going to get worse until we repent.
2 Timothy 3: 1-7
- Wide Awake
“If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.”
—Marcus Aurelius - short, simple, to the point.
Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves
and those we love.
-….. MAA I felt convicted on that quote . Fantastic stack MAA thank u . 🙏💜⚔️
That was so powerful! I really didn’t have teachers of that magnitude during my university days--1969-72. I started out as PreMed at the Univ of Rochester, NY and ended up in English literature. I remember so well the upper levels of the Rush Rhees Library, referred to as the stacks, near the bell tower where I would study on occasion. Few folks ventured up there. I could feel the history and the power of the ancient texts. I loved the quiet. That was shocking what you experienced with your good friend regarding the destruction of those books/manuscripts. (Twenty years later I did secure a degree at a Community College in NYS and became an RN and did have a couple of professors that were stellar and had acquired wisdom).
This is a thoughtfully brilliant lesson in speaking up despite the possible cost; and the video production is top notch. It must have taken a great deal of effort to complete and I thank you for making that effort.
Madame, I feel led to commit some of what I am thinking to words. Your description of the courageous person is accurate. However, sometimes those traits take time to express. Ethical dilemmas are not always black and white right away. Sometimes they take some ruminating before the picture resolves itself into focus, then your will to action becomes manifest like iron. Once this occurs, your will becomes like granite. As time passes, you exercise this like a muscle, and it becomes stronger and faster.
I'm a nobody, a senior citizen (I hate that term). About fifteen or twenty years ago the insurance companies, the government and thus the medical offices and hospitals began telling patients that they had to hand over their driver license to be copied and added to their medical records in order to check in for an appointment. Also about that time, patients' medical records had to become digital, electronic, instead of on paper in a file in the office in the building. That's when my personal hell began for each time I arrived for my appointment I would have to have an argument with the office woman when I told her I would not let her copy my ID. I have had to endure many unpleasant encounters with these "nazis" , these"Your papers, please" jerks and I'm damn sick of it at this point. I hate going to medical appointments to begin with and now I am being made physically ill due to the additional harassments.
Beautiful in 3 forms ~ the words printed/read, listened to from your recording and now the visuals accompanying so glorious this triptych all moving and alive, thank you. The best writing reverberates through time, maintains, sustains ~ as yours certainly does. 🙏🕊️
I’ve never seen anyone talk about Ordinary Men before. I read that 25 years ago, and it opened to my eyes to why the people of Germany joined and fought as Nazis.
We are the true rebels. We can smell lies. We cannot stand the stench.
I think part of courage is being emotionally open which means being able to cry without shame, to feel sad spontaneously and not fight it. And to be joyous for no reason. It seems many people are sort of emotionally limited. Here's to courage.
I can't describe how deeply your poem hit my soul. It made me feel sad that I never encountered such a mentor. The closest is my father who refuses to bow to any authority and has no problem speaking his mind.
My other mentors, mostly men, are truthtellers and have integrity in spades, demonstrating courage to speak the elephant in the room, challenge authority, say NO and not acquiesce to ridiculous demands.
All the women mentors in my life required submission and were destructive in their leadership. Interesting.
Margaret, another good example of moral courage is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He had a perfect opportunity to escape the Nazi steamroller but he felt God tug him to return to Germany during the midstage of the Reich's machinations. His famous quote stands out clearly: “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” Many Christians have questioned his peripheral involvement in the attempt to assassinate Hitler--but clearly when evidence was presented to him of what was occuring, he willing participated. I believe he likely perceived that many within the church would never understand what He did, but clearly he was driven by a moral purpose of right from wrong. I recommend the lengthy Metaxis biography.
Your post, poem, and video are stunning, beautiful, necessary... Thank you, Margaret Anna Alice. I look forward to sharing this with my friends and family who had their moral courage tested and strengthened these past few years. I will also share your post with those I know who may be inspired to look within and discover their own latent courage.
Stunning visual representation of your poem, Margaret! How was this received at the retirement?
Bang on as always and brimming with great quotes.
The Assange quote reads like a fine prose poem.
The Marcus A. quote “If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.” is stunningly blue-collar-blunt in its simplicity and wisdom.
If I may, I'd like to add another angle. What makes the sort of person discussed is often something as elementary as an aversion to being made a fool of; to be lied to ... which of course, goes hand in hand with a disgust of lies, the Big Lie and injustice.