All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened. – Maya Angelou
Peter F. Rothermel's "Patrick Henry Before the Virginia House of Burgesses", a painting of Patrick Henry's "If this be treason, make the most of it!" speech against the Stamp Act of 1765
What does that mean?
Maya was part of the American Civil Rights movement, and that may help cast some light on what is being said in this quote. I was unable to find if this was in reference to the people opposing the Civil Rights movement or the people in favor of it, but it seems to apply to both.
When a person has their core beliefs invalidated, they lose not just their identity, but their very foundation. Like the people learning that the earth was round and not flat, it shook them (and their society) to the core.
This is what the quote is about. When those ideals or core beliefs are threatened, people will go to great lengths to protect them. Smaller numbers will do the improbable, and a handful will do the incredible to protect their ideals.
Why are ideals important?
If you ask Patrick Henry, of the American Revolution, he might have had a solid answer (hint: he’s famous for saying “Give me liberty or give me death!”) How is that for being prepared to accomplish something incredible?
At thefreedictionary.com, ideal is defined as “A conception of something in its absolute perfection.” So, what the quote says is that if a the concept of perfection is challenged, the people believing in this perfection are likely to be fairly highly motivated to defend it, right?
Ideals are the concepts against which we measure ourselves, and quite often, our happiness. We derive value and sense of well being from conforming to the ideals of our culture or society. If someone is ‘rocking the boat,’ as it were, we’re not just going to stand by and watch our ideals be torn down, are we? For most of us, the answer is going to be a resounding “No!”
Where can I apply this in my life?
We have seen this principle in our lifetimes. The protests in Wisconsin about the changes in what Unions can and cannot do, to the protests about abortion rights (both pro and con), as well as the uproar over an artist who put a crucifix in a jar and then filled the jar with urine, people reacted strongly.
They were reacting because their view of something that was, if not perfect, certainly very close to it, was being challenged, degraded or reduced in some way or form. I’m not trying to take sides here, but simply to point out, that people are still prepared to do much when their ideals are threatened.
Now, did any of the topics in the first paragraph of this section cause you to get a little steamed, a little angry? Perhaps one of your ideals was threatened in remembrance (that is, you were reminded by one of these incidences of a time when your ideals were threatened)?
Ideals aren’t something I can help you with, nor am I going to suggest to you what you should do if you feel they are threatened, other than to exercise caution. Violence may appear to ‘solve’ the immediate problem, but it will create many other problems, and will only serve to make the overall situation much worse.
What I can do is ask you to write down some of your core beliefs. What do you stand for? What do you consider to be, if not absolutely perfect, close to perfect? What are you willing to go to the greatest lengths to preserve and protect? Will you fight for freedom (as you believe it to be)? Will you fight for peace (not as much an oxymoron as you might think, provided you have a broad view of the word ‘fight’)?
To lightly mangle another quote “Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.” What do you stand for? What are you willing to lend your effort towards protecting? Regardless of your gender (this quote specifies men), you have values, you have ideals and you have your reasons for believing in them. If you aren’t willing to defend them, are they really ideals, or just a pleasant thoughts?
From: Twitter, @WomenOfHistory
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/mayaangelo120862.html
Artwork by Peter_F._Rothermel
