--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The man who can face vilification and…" description: "\"The man who can face vilification and disgrace, who can stand up against the popular current, even against his friends and his country when he know he ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/alexander-berkman-24501_anti-war_the-man-who-can-face-vilification-and-di_2782872.png" --- # The man who can face vilification and disgrace, who can… ![“The man who can face vilification and disgrace, who can stand up against the popular current, even against his friends and his country when he know he is right, who can defy those in authority over him, who can take punishment and prison and remain steadfast-that is a man of courage. The fellow…” quote by Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/alexander-berkman-24501_anti-war_the-man-who-can-face-vilification-and-di_2782872.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/alexander-berkman-24501_anti-war_the-man-who-can-face-vilification-and-di_2782872.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/alexander-berkman-24501_anti-war_the-man-who-can-face-vilification-and-di_2782872.png) > “The man who can face vilification and disgrace, who can stand up against the popular current, even against his friends and his country when he know he is right, who can defy those in authority over him, who can take punishment and prison and remain steadfast-that is a man of courage. The fellow whom you taunt as a 'slacker' because he refuses to turn murderer-he needs courage. But do you need much courage just to obey orders, to do as you are told and to fall in line with thousands of others to the tune of general approval and the Star Spangled Banner?” [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Courage means standing against popular opinion and authority when truth demands it, even at personal cost. **In simple terms:** Standing up for right despite pressure. Key Takeaway Act on convictions, not conformity. Themes courage integrity individualism Mood defiant inspirational Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - whistleblowing - personal ethics - political protest Key Concepts ethical conviction civil disobedience Questions to Reflect On - When have you challenged a popular view? - What risks are worth taking for truth? A Different Perspective Courage can be misused for reckless defiance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/) [Approval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Murderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderer/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Slacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slacker/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Steadfast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steadfast/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The arts can open the door to the imagination, pushing the envelope of how peace can be created. It takes courage to take this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-shorter/the-arts-can-open-the-door-to-the-imagination-pushing-the-envelope-of/) [Wayne Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-shorter/) > [Should we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a simple movement of heart toward God will renew our powers. Whatever he may demand of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/should-we-feel-at-times-disheartened-and-discouraged-a-simple/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The courage we need is not the fortitude to be obedient in the service of an unjust war, to help conceal lies, to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-courage-we-need-is-not-the-fortitude-to-be-obedient-in-the/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [No magic formula can completely prepare us for crises in life. However, each choice we make now will impact how we handle those crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/no-magic-formula-can-completely-prepare-us-for-crises-in-life-however/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [“Courage. I need courage. Because this is surely the stupidest idea in the history of guys liking girls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/courage-i-need-courage-because-this-is-surely-the-stupidest-idea-in/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“It had to be a mad dream, one that would give her the courage she would need to discard the prejudices of a class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/it-had-to-be-a-mad-dream-one-that-would-give-her-the-courage-she/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [I always look to my mom for strength and courage when I need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-jane-hansen/i-always-look-to-my-mom-for-strength-and-courage-when-i-need-it/) Dinah-Jane Hansen > [You dont need to say a word; your eyes hold all the warmth and courage I need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-dreams/you-dont-need-to-say-a-word-your-eyes-hold-all-the-warmth-and-courage/) [Destiny Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-dreams/) > [The only courage you will need is the courage to live the life you are meant to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/the-only-courage-you-will-need-is-the-courage-to-live-the-life-you/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“I know from vast experience that fear talks a lot louder than courage. I need to listen to that other voice inside me, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-kagen/i-know-from-vast-experience-that-fear-talks-a-lot-louder-than-courage/) [Lesley Kagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-kagen/) > [Courage is all you need to be a successful person. Even to be successful in defending your LOVE. -](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/courage-is-all-you-need-to-be-a-successful-person-even-to-be/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I hope this brings someone else the courage they need to face whatever challenge is before them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-hope-this-brings-someone-else-the-courage-they-need-to-face/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Standing alone needs courage, but rarely it depict the strength… Rather unity and togetherness is real strength which we all know but again rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santanu-mishra/standing-alone-needs-courage-but-rarely-it-depict-the-strength-rather/) [Santanu Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santanu-mishra/) > [“Surviving is what most of us just do. To live and to be loved, needs courage and be loving, in that order.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magith-noohukhan/surviving-is-what-most-of-us-just-do-to-live-and-to-be-loved-needs/) [Magith Noohukhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magith-noohukhan/) > [“I wished to tell the truth, for truth always conveys its own moral to those who are able to receive it. But as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/i-wished-to-tell-the-truth-for-truth-always-conveys-its-own-moral-to/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) ## More by Alexander Berkman > [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [When the highwayman holds his gun to your head, you turn your valuables over to him. You 'consent' alright, but you do so because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/when-the-highwayman-holds-his-gun-to-your-head-you-turn-your/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [War means blind obedience, unthinking stupidity, brutish callousness, wanton destruction, and irresponsible murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/war-means-blind-obedience-unthinking-stupidity-brutish-callousness/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [“In an absolutism, the autocrat is visible and tangible. The real despotism of republican institutions is far deeper, more insidious, because it rests on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/in-an-absolutism-the-autocrat-is-visible-and-tangible-the-real/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [It is the system, rather than individuals, that is the source of pollution and degradation. My prison-house environment is but another manifestation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/it-is-the-system-rather-than-individuals-that-is-the-source-of/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [...existence has become an unreasoning, wild dance around the golden calf, a mad worship of God Mammon. In that dance and in that worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/existence-has-become-an-unreasoning-wild-dance-around-the-golden-calf/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Man's inhumanity to man is not the last word. The truth lies deeper. It is economic slavery, the savage struggle for a crumb, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/man-s-inhumanity-to-man-is-not-the-last-word-the-truth-lies-deeper-it/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [“No intelligent radical can fail to realize the need of the rational education of the young. The rearing of the child must become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/no-intelligent-radical-can-fail-to-realize-the-need-of-the-rational/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [War paralyzes your courage and deadens the spirit of true manhood. It degrades and stupefies with the sense that you are not responsible, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/war-paralyzes-your-courage-and-deadens-the-spirit-of-true-manhood-it/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [War paralyzes your courage and deadens the spirit of true manhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/war-paralyzes-your-courage-and-deadens-the-spirit-of-true-manhood/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Socialism, like Christianity destroyed itself to gain power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/socialism-like-christianity-destroyed-itself-to-gain-power/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [If you can see, hear, feel, and think, you should know that King Dollar rules the United States, and that the workers are robbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/if-you-can-see-hear-feel-and-think-you-should-know-that-king-dollar/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [In short, Anarchism means a condition or society where all men and women are free, and where all enjoy equally the benefits of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/in-short-anarchism-means-a-condition-or-society-where-all-men-and/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [“I have said that there is no "average" American. That is due to the circumstance that the people of the United States differ from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/i-have-said-that-there-is-no-average-american-that-is-due-to-the/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [“Violence is the method of ignorance, the weapon of the weak. The strong of heart and brain need no violence, for they are irresistible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/violence-is-the-method-of-ignorance-the-weapon-of-the-weak-the-strong/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) [Explore all 24 Alexander Berkman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) ## More Anti war quotes > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-the-eyes-of-empire-builders-men-are-not-men-but-instruments/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [My first wish is to see this plague of mankind banished from the earth, and the sons and daughters of this world employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-first-wish-is-to-see-this-plague-of-mankind-banished-from-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/one-reason-the-united-states-finds-itself-at-the-edge-of-a-foreign/) Stefan Halper > [A good soldier is a blind, heartless, soulless, murderous machine. He is not a man. His is not a brute, for brutes kill only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/a-good-soldier-is-a-blind-heartless-soulless-murderous-machine-he-is/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-moral-and-constitutional-obligations-of-our-representatives-in/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The way I'm going now is to focus on peace, to create peace. As Sister Corita said, "I don't go to anti-war rallies. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/the-way-i-m-going-now-is-to-focus-on-peace-to-create-peace-as-sister/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [Here's the thing. Just because you're pro-troops doesn't mean you're pro-war. And just because you're anti-war doesn't mean you're anti-troops. Just because you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/here-s-the-thing-just-because-you-re-pro-troops-doesn-t-mean-you-re/) [Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/) > [The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-worst-evils-which-mankind-has-ever-had-to-endure-were-inflicted/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/repetition-does-not-transform-a-lie-into-a-truth/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/you-cannot-be-on-one-hand-dedicated-to-peace-and-on-the-other/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-nations-don-t-develop-weapons-of-mass-destruction/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Once conscription was introduced during the First World War, and once Britain's wars ceased being confined to the empire or to continental Europe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/once-conscription-was-introduced-during-the-first-world-war-and-once/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) [Browse all 486 Anti war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The man who can face vilification and disgrace, who can stand up against the popular current, even against his friends and his country when he know he is right, who can defy those in authority over him, who can take punishment and prison and remain steadfast-that is a man of courage. The fellow whom you taunt as a 'slacker' because he refuses to turn murderer-he needs courage. 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