The amount of it is, if
the majority vote the Devil to be
God, the minority will
live and behave accordingly, and
obey the successful
candidate, trusting that, some time or
other, by some Speaker's
casting-vote, perhaps, they may
Reinstate God. This is the
highest principle I can get out or
invent for my neighbors.
These men act as if they believed
that they could safely
slide down a hill a little way, or a
good way, and would surely
come to a place, by and by,
where they could begin to
slide up again. This is expediency,
or choosing that course
which offers the slightest obstacles
to the feet, that is, a
downhill one. But there is no such thing
as accomplishing a
righteous reform by the use of "expedi-
ency." There is no
such thing as sliding up hill. In morals the
only sliders are
backsliders.
All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote.
ምንም አስተያየቶች የሉም:
አስተያየት ይለጥፉ