"And in the general hardening of outlook..." - Quote by George Orwell
And in the general hardening of outlook that set in ... practices which had been long abandoned ... -- imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages and the deportation of whole populations -- not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive.
More by George Orwell
“Perhaps it is only when people are somewhere near the starvation level that they have anything to sing about.”
“Money writes books, money sells them. Give me not righteousness, O Lord, give me money, only money.”
“It is brought home to you...that it is only because miners sweat their guts out that superior persons can remain superior.”
More on Society
More on Human Rights
“I regard it as a duty which I owed, not just to my people, but also to my profession, to the practice of law, and to the justice for all mankind, to cry out against this discrimination which is essentially unjust and opposed to the whole basis of the attitude towards justice which is part of the tradition of legal training in this country. I believed that in taking up a stand against this injustice I was upholding the dignity of what should be an honorable profession.”
“The promotion of human rights cannot be about exhortation alone. At times, it must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy. I know that engagement with repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation. But I also know that sanctions without outreach -- condemnation without discussion -- can carry forward only a crippling status quo. No repressive regime can move down a new path unless it has the choice of an open door.”
“I'm opposed to any policy that would deny in our country any human being from access to public safety, public education, or public health, period.”