A banquet for thought

Which is a pun of sorts, in a twisted sort of way. That so few words should provide more than food for thought, but a groaning table of thought, so concisely. Here is another quote from Francis W. Porretto:

"Few feelings are as terrifying as that of standing alone against a crowd. The crowd's roar of displeasure strikes past the reasoning centers and directly into the most primitive nodes of our brains. It can frighten the strongest man into abandoning his post. Most of us aren't equipped with enough courage to withstand that roar.

Yet mustering the courage to stand fast against evil is demanded of us. We are not obligated to thwart every villainy under the Sun, but we are required, in the words of Albert Camus, "not to join forces with the plagues." If it's within our powers to interrupt a causal chain that will lead to an evil result, we must do so. If we are given the opportunity to decry such a chain whose formation is in progress, we must do so. Sometimes we will be defeated. Sometimes there will be consequences for having stood in opposition. But to abrogate one's moral responsibility to state one's convictions and then stand fast on them is to betray any imaginable conception of one's moral worth."

I have "tilted against windmills" for much of my life. The results often have not been pretty, or pleasant to me. It has made it somewhat easier to live with myself, however. Once or twice it has even made the world - the part nearest to me, at least - a slightly better place to live.

Read the rest of his excellent post at: http://www.eternityroad.info/index.php/weblog/single/frans_sunday_ruminations_the_deadly_chain/#