--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always felt from the beginning that you…" description: "\"I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend people you disliked and feared as well as those you admired.\" — Roger Nash Baldwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg" --- # I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend… ![“I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend people you disliked and feared as well as those you admired.” quote by Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg) > “I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend people you disliked and feared as well as those you admired.” [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One must defend both disliked and feared individuals as well as admired ones, emphasizing universal moral responsibility. **In simple terms:** Defend all, regardless of feelings. Key Takeaway Practice impartial advocacy. Themes ethics justice altruism Mood serious inspirational Type ethical activist When to use this quote - legal work - community organizing - education - policy making Key Concepts moral philosophy human rights social activism Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay compassionate toward adversaries? - What boundaries are needed in advocacy? A Different Perspective May be emotionally taxing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe Larry Kings cannot thrive or even survive in a world where the norms for discourse are rage, vehemence and character assassination. 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And my office is to defend him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-verges/everybody-has-a-right-to-be-defended-and-every-lawyer-has-a-duty-to/) [Jacques Verges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-verges/) > [To see the other side, to defend another people, not despite your tradition but because of it, is the heart of pluralism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/to-see-the-other-side-to-defend-another-people-not-despite-your/) [Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/) > [I feel no compunction to defend L.A. People criticize it, and for the most part, it's well-founded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d/i-feel-no-compunction-to-defend-l-a-people-criticize-it-and-for-the/) [Mike D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d/) > [People have me pinned as a shark or a predator in some way, and in no way am I that. 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To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/she-had-to-defend-him-in-order-to-defend-herself-that-was-why-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I always defend the people I love, even though Im about as terrifying as a baby penguin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-direction/i-always-defend-the-people-i-love-even-though-im-about-as-terrifying/) [One Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-direction/) ## More by Roger Nash Baldwin > [I am for socialism, disarmament, and, ultimately, for abolishing the state itself... I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-am-for-socialism-disarmament-and-ultimately-for-abolishing-the/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [I regard the principle of conscription of life as a flat contradiction of all our cherished ideals of individual freedom, democratic liberty and Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-regard-the-principle-of-conscription-of-life-as-a-flat/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [I would say that social work began in my mind in the Unitarian Church when I was ten or twelve years old, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-would-say-that-social-work-began-in-my-mind-in-the-unitarian-church/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/the-smallest-deed-is-better-than-the-grandest-intention/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [The Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939, a traumatic shock to me, ended any ambivalence I had about the Soviet Union, and all cooperation with Communists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/the-nazi-soviet-pact-of-1939-a-traumatic-shock-to-me-ended-any/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/so-long-as-we-have-enough-people-in-this-country-willing-to-fight-for/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [The rule of law in place of force, always basic to my thinking, now takes on a new relevance in a world where, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/the-rule-of-law-in-place-of-force-always-basic-to-my-thinking-now/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [I cannot consistently, with self respect, do other than I have, namely, to deliberately violate an act which seems to me to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-cannot-consistently-with-self-respect-do-other-than-i-have-namely/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) [Explore all 9 Roger Nash Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) ## More Admired quotes > [To me, true style icons have been few and far between. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I suppose I'm led to do so by the fact of what happened to my contemporaries - people whom I've admired, people who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-suppose-i-m-led-to-do-so-by-the-fact-of-what-happened-to-my/) [George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/) > [I always admired virtue - but I could never imitate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-always-admired-virtue-but-i-could-never-imitate-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always looked at guys who I've admired, like John Williams and Lalo Schifrin and Max Steiner, and looked at the choices they made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-ve-always-looked-at-guys-who-i-ve-admired-like-john-williams-and/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [Admired as a saint, defined by my rank. 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Ah, the lack is not without you, but within you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/what-nothing-grand-and-noble-to-be-admired-obeyed-copied-ah-the-lack/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) Browse all 392 Admired quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend people you disliked and feared as well as those you admired.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roger Nash Baldwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-you-had-to-defend-people-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Admired" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-you-had-to-defend-people-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/roger-nash-baldwin-45339_admired_i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-yo_2872585.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend people you disliked and feared as well as those you…” — Roger Nash Baldwin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roger Nash Baldwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always felt from the beginning...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-you-had-to-defend-people-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-always-felt-from-the-beginning-that-you-had-to-defend-people-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```