QUOTES
-Citizenship-
"I have no country to fight for: my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of
the world."
-Community-
Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind
that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I
say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal
element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
Now
my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not
because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself but because I am not satisfied
to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who
suffer for the barest necessities of life. We were taught under the old ethic
that man's business on this earth was to look out for himself. That was the ethic
of the jungle; the ethic of the wild beast. Take care of yourself, no matter what
may become of your fellow man. Thousands of years ago the question was asked;
''Am I my brother's keeper?'' That question has never yet been answered in a way
that is satisfactory to civilized society. Yes, I am my brother's keeper. I am
under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality
but by the higher duty I owe myself. What would you think me if I were capable
of seating myself at a table and gorging myself with food and saw about me the
children of my fellow beings starving to death.
-Economy-
We want a system in which the worker shall get what he produces and the capitalist
shall produce what he gets.
The
economic owning class is always the political ruling class.
-Labor-
Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have
been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced
by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. 'But
notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential
power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate
realization as is the setting of the sun.
You
have got to unite in the same labor union and in the same political party and
strike and vote together, and the hour you do that, the world is yours.
What
can Labor do for itself? The answer is not difficult. Labor can organize, it can
unify; it can consolidate its forces. This done, it can demand and command.
-Volunteer-
It is when you have done your work honestly, when you have contributed your share
to the common fund that you begin to live.
