Whenever Gerald rebukes people for lack of courage, I can’t help but feel personally responsible, to some extent, for the present state of things — or for the present state of myself, I should say. Anyone who has sincerely tried will realize that courage, self-governance and living up to one’s ideals is a hard thing. It is difficult to be self-disciplined, but it is the only way for people who want to be free.
And that difficulty is what makes freedom a priceless gift.
If we wait for the world to change and set itself right before claiming our freedom, then we are doing ourselves a disservice. Freedom does not come from without; it comes from within. Unless we sincerely and diligently search for it, we will never have it — no matter how good the circumstances are which surround us. So, if we look for the government and the rest of the world to change their ways before we can be free, we are looking for something very precious — but in the wrong spot.
That’s like hoping for a pearl to be found amongst the shit.
–a Trends In The News viewer