--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to know where you would have…" description: "\"If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don’t look at where you stand on slavery today. Look at where you stand..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/paul-watson-1855_animal_if-you-want-to-know-where-you-would-have_112828.jpg" --- # If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery… ![“If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don’t look at where you stand on slavery today. Look at where you stand on animal rights.” quote by Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/paul-watson-1855_animal_if-you-want-to-know-where-you-would-have_112828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/paul-watson-1855_animal_if-you-want-to-know-where-you-would-have_112828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/paul-watson-1855_animal_if-you-want-to-know-where-you-would-have_112828.jpg) > “If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don’t look at where you stand on slavery today. Look at where you stand on animal rights.” [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral consistency is revealed by comparing past and present stances on oppression; animal rights serve as a proxy for broader ethical commitments. **In simple terms:** Your current view on animal rights shows your deeper moral compass. Key Takeaway Past attitudes predict present ethical priorities. Themes ethics historical perspective animal rights moral consistency Mood provocative reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - debating animal welfare policies - reflecting on personal values - evaluating political platforms Key Concepts moral psychology comparative ethics Practical Applications - use past advocacy to gauge current moral alignment Questions to Reflect On - How do your current beliefs align with past actions? - Can one issue reliably indicate overall ethical consistency? A Different Perspective Equating animal rights with historical stances on slavery may oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights-2/) [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I love my country and what it stands for. Freedom. Law of the jungle. 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I mean it's the sustenance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/my-life-is-a-tsunami-of-inspirations-number-one-is-that-i-really-do/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) ## More by Paul Watson > [Social change comes through people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/social-change-comes-through-people/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [Sea Shepherd is to terrorism what Groucho was to Marxism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/sea-shepherd-is-to-terrorism-what-groucho-was-to-marxism/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [You don't get anywhere unless you've had a little bit of a complicated life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/you-don-t-get-anywhere-unless-you-ve-had-a-little-bit-of-a/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [Here's the thing: Nobody gets extradited for a crime where nobody's been hurt, where no property's been damaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/here-s-the-thing-nobody-gets-extradited-for-a-crime-where-nobody-s/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [The shark is the apex predator in the sea. Sharks have molded evolution for 450 million years. All fish species that are prey to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/the-shark-is-the-apex-predator-in-the-sea-sharks-have-molded/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [We are literally eating the oceans alive and there are simply not enough fish to continue to feed an ever expanding population of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/we-are-literally-eating-the-oceans-alive-and-there-are-simply-not/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [I want to stay in the ocean. 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If we dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/well-lose-more-species-of-plants-and-animals-between-2000-and-2065/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) [Explore all 203 Paul Watson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don’t look at where you stand on slavery today. 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