Hope

“Thus Nazism, as it proceeded from practice to theory, had to deny expertness in thinking and then (this second process was never completed), in order to fill the vacuum, had to establish expert thinking of its own—that is, to find men of inferior or irresponsible caliber whose views conformed dishonestly or, worse yet, honestly to the Party line. The nonpolitical pastor satisfied Nazi requirements by being nonpolitical. But the nonpolitical schoolmaster was, by the very virtue of being nonpolitical, a dangerous man from the first. He himself would not rebel, nor would he, if he could help it, teach rebellion; but he could not help being dangerous—not if he went on teaching what was true. In order to be a theory and not just a practice, National Socialism required the destruction of academic independence.”
― Milton Sanford Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45

“Peter H. Wood wrote in a 1999 paper on slavery and denial, "After all, as several eminent academics have recently reminded us, 'nations need to control their national memory, because nations keep their shape by shaping their citizens' understanding of the past.”
― Nikole Hannah-Jones, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

“The most important message of this book, when considering the role the government should play in reproductive choices, is that people are able to make good decisions about their bodies, their childbearing, and their lives. People understand the consequences of abortion and the consequences of ongoing pregnancy and childbirth, and they can make that decision for themselves.”
― Diana Greene Foster, The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion

“History has shown that few of us who benefit from the order of things are willing to compromise what we have for the good of the whole.”
― Julietta Singh, The Breaks: An Essay