Civilized Quote by W. E. B. Du Bois
“Today I see more clearly than yesterday that the back of the problem of race and color lies a greater problem which both obscures and implements it: and that is the fact that so many civilized persons are willing to live in comfort even if the price of this is poverty, ignorance, and disease of the majority of their fellow men.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: The Souls of Black Folk, 1903
The true issue of race is hidden by a deeper problem: many comfortable people accept their ease while the majority suffer poverty, ignorance, and disease.
In simple terms: Comfort for a few masks widespread suffering.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and address systemic inequality.
Themes
justice
inequality
comfort
responsibility
Mood
concerned
reflective
Type
ethical
social commentary
When to use this quote
- public policy
- education reform
- healthcare access
- community activism
Key Concepts
systemic oppression
social responsibility
ethical complacency
Questions to Reflect On
- How does personal comfort perpetuate injustice?
- What can be done to break this complacency?
A Different Perspective
Comfort can blind people to the suffering of others.
![“That country [Carthage] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws; and every step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage man over civilized society.” quote by Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/70c/edward-gibbon-710_barbarism_that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinkin_393.jpg)
