The Well of Inspiration

Seeking wisdom from resisters through the ages

By Bruce Watson

Leadership, whether in the White House or at the barricades, is supposed to inspire. As JFK said of Churchill, “he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.” Yet today’s pronouncements from the White House are cringeworthy, and aside from clever signs at resistance rallies, not much verbal inspiration is coming from the barricades.

So we must find inspiration elsewhere, in the broad and sweeping words of resisters who came before us. Leaders such as:

Frederick Douglass: “‘We, the people,’ — not we, the white people — not we, the citizens, or the legal voters — not we, the privileged class, and excuding all other classes, but we, the people.”

Marian Wright Edelman: “Democracy is not a specator sport.”

Patti Smith: “The people have the power to redeem the work of fools.”

But broad and sweeping inspiration is like an open highway — fleeting. Try repeating any of the above in the face of headline horrors or in answer to the latest MAGA meanness.

More lasting are the specific candles that shed light on specific offenses. Rather than merely “go high when they go low,” here are ten targeted inspirations to steer you from common alleys of despair.

When rank racism rears its ugly head. . .

“Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” — Zora Neale Hurston

When someone accuses you of hating America. . .

“I love America more than any other country in the world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” — James Baldwin

When another ICE roundup descends. . .

“What has happened to us in this country? If we study our own history, we find that we have always been ready to receive the unfortunate from other countries, and though this may seem a generous gesture on our part, we have profited a thousand fold by what they have brought us.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

When lies and more lies scroll across the nearest screen. . .

When comiseration with a friend leaves you darker than ever. . .

“Does anything in nature despair except man? An animal with a foot caught in a trap does not seem to despair. It is too busy trying to survive. It is all closed in, to a kind of still, intense waiting. Is this a key? Keep busy with survival. Imitate the trees.” — May Sarton

When our universities are under attack. . .

“If you think education is expensive, try estimating the cost of ignorance.” — Howard Gardner

When Trump says something crazy. . .

“There are always a few who stand up in times of communal madness and have the courage to say that what unites us is greater than what divides us.” — Geraldine Brooks

When 3 a.m. wakes you with another OMG fear. . .

“We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our own history and our doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.” — Edward R. Murrow

When it seems they are trying to block all progress. . .

“They cannot roll back the rising tide of reform. The world moves.” — Victoria Woodhull

Finally, when you hear of humanity’s decline and fall. . .

“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” — William Faulkner

What wisdom do you rely upon to keep you going? Please include the author if known.