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Saturday, June 4, 2011

From Liberty To Freedom-- Six Civic Principles

In his wonderful book, A Black Way of Seeing, Paul Robeson's son, Paul Robeson Jr., lists six principles which I would like to practice daily.

1. Strive for excellence, try to be the best that you can possibly be. Aim for perfection instead of merely tring to "beat" others.

2. Success without advancing the interests of our people as a whole, without helping those who have fallen behind, is worth little.

3. The human race is one family, with diverse but equal members having different cultures, and a deeper understanding of one's own culture will inevitably lead to a better understanding of other cultures.

4. Personal growth is the mother of greatness; but its price is pain and perseverance.

5. Temper strength and power with gentleness and compassion; balance courage with wisdom.

6. Don't go along to get along. Be willing to do what you know is right.

I found this wonderful book at the Tacoma Public Library, Main Branch.


2 comments:

Lorraine Hart said...

I really do believe in striving for our best in everything...but, as the Native Americans say, nothing should be perfect. As Mr. Robeson goes on to say, everything should be tempered by compassion...and how do we know to give compassion to others, if we have not learned it by giving this same compassion to ourselves, in our own journey?

All of us, if we search back far enough, begin together. Many good strong points made in this book. Thank you for sharing the gist, Joseph.

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