"Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an arm of construction." This statemtent, made by Helen Keller in the speech "Strike Against War," is, in my opinion, one of the most profound and moving lines that I have ever heard. Something about it just really struck something the moment I read it. It really made me want to get up and do something about it. I wanted to prove that I wasnt a dumb folllower, but a heroic leader.
This line reminds me of somehting my mom used to say to me when I was in elementary school. "Be a leader, not a follower." She would say this when I would come home complaining about how one of my classmates made unfair rules in a game of tag, or some sort of playground drama like that. I used to think it was a stupid idea. I mean, why would I want to leave my freinds? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. What's the point of having a miserable time at recess if there's a way for you to change it? Instead of going along with those unfair tag rules, I could have been a leader and changed it. It all comes down to standing up for yourself. If you have the guts to tell someone that you don't agree with them, then good things can happen. You just have to work up the courage to tell someone that they're being stupid, even if they're one of the most "popular" kids in school.
Taking this out of the context of the playground and into the context of Helen Keller's speech, I can see lots of relation between the two. Keller talked about how the workers are not free. She said that they toiled endlessly, but never benefitted from it. The people who did benefited from it were the people on top, the people who didn't do any work, but called the shots and made the money. If the workers had stood up and refused to follow, they could have turned things around and made their lifestyles better. If someone had taken a stand against taking part in the war and pointed out how the war was not, like president Wilson said, to protect the liberties of Americans. If someone had said that the war was purely about money and didn't take the peoples' interests into mind at all. If only someone had done this, America might have had a clearer head before deciding to go to war.
So in conclusion, I'd like to quote Helen Keller's speech once more. "Strike against all ordinances and laws and institutions that continue the slaughter and butcheries of war. Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought. Strike against manufacturing scrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder. Strike against prepaerdness that means death and misery to millions of human beings." Helen Keller was the person who dared to stand up and be a leader amongst followers.
This line reminds me of somehting my mom used to say to me when I was in elementary school. "Be a leader, not a follower." She would say this when I would come home complaining about how one of my classmates made unfair rules in a game of tag, or some sort of playground drama like that. I used to think it was a stupid idea. I mean, why would I want to leave my freinds? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. What's the point of having a miserable time at recess if there's a way for you to change it? Instead of going along with those unfair tag rules, I could have been a leader and changed it. It all comes down to standing up for yourself. If you have the guts to tell someone that you don't agree with them, then good things can happen. You just have to work up the courage to tell someone that they're being stupid, even if they're one of the most "popular" kids in school.
Taking this out of the context of the playground and into the context of Helen Keller's speech, I can see lots of relation between the two. Keller talked about how the workers are not free. She said that they toiled endlessly, but never benefitted from it. The people who did benefited from it were the people on top, the people who didn't do any work, but called the shots and made the money. If the workers had stood up and refused to follow, they could have turned things around and made their lifestyles better. If someone had taken a stand against taking part in the war and pointed out how the war was not, like president Wilson said, to protect the liberties of Americans. If someone had said that the war was purely about money and didn't take the peoples' interests into mind at all. If only someone had done this, America might have had a clearer head before deciding to go to war.
So in conclusion, I'd like to quote Helen Keller's speech once more. "Strike against all ordinances and laws and institutions that continue the slaughter and butcheries of war. Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought. Strike against manufacturing scrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder. Strike against prepaerdness that means death and misery to millions of human beings." Helen Keller was the person who dared to stand up and be a leader amongst followers.
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