Equality lies only in human moral dignity. ... Let there be brothers first, then there will be brotherhood, and only then will there be a fair sharing of goods among brothers.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
It is not by great acts but by small failures that freedom dies. . . . Justice and liberty die quietly, because men first learn to ignore injustice and then no longer recognize it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Freedom diminishes gradually through small injustices that people overlook.
Charles Morgan Jr. suggests that the erosion of freedom does not occur through sudden, large-scale acts but rather through a series of small failures to acknowledge and act against injustice. Over time, as people ignore these injustices, they become desensitized to the loss of justice and liberty, leading to a quiet decline in societal freedom.
Themes
FreedomInjusticeSocietyLibertyAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about societal issues, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of recognizing small injustices.
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