Emma Goldman citáty

Emma Goldmanová byla americká anarchistka židovského původu. Proslavila se politickým aktivismem, spisy a přednáškami. V první polovině 20. století sehrála klíčovou roli v rozvoji anarchistické politické filozofie v Severní Americe a Evropě.

Goldmanová se narodila v Kovně na území Ruského impéria a roku 1885 emigrovala do Spojených států. K anarchismu ji přivedly události haymarketského masakru, krvavého střetu chicagských demonstrantů s policií, který skončil zabitím desítek lidí a odsouzením několika anarchistů k smrti. Její přednášky o anarchistické filozofii, ženských právech a aktuálních sociálních problémech se těšily návštěvám tisíců posluchačů. Společně s anarchistickým spisovatelem Alexandrem Berkmanem, jenž byl jejím celoživotním přítelem, plánovala atentát na průmyslníka a finančníka Henryho Claye Fricka, který měl být proveden jako tzv. propaganda činem. Frick pokus o vraždu roku 1892 přežil a Berkmana odsoudili k 22 letům odnětí svobody. Goldmanová byla v následujících letech několikrát vězněna za „podněcování k nepokojům“ a ilegální šíření informací o antikoncepčních metodách. V roce 1906 založila anarchistický měsíčník Mother Earth .

Roku 1917 byli Goldmanová s Berkmanem odsouzeni ke dvěma letům vězení za to, že v souvislosti s nově nařízenými odvody do americké armády za první světové války „nabádali spoluobčany, aby se vyhýbali registraci“. Po propuštění byli společně se stovkami dalších zadrženi a deportováni do rodného Ruska. Tam Goldmanová zpočátku podporovala bolševickou revoluci, ale hned po kronštadtském povstání, které organizovali levicoví oponenti bolševiků, svůj postoj změnila a Sovětský svaz kritizovala za násilné potlačování hlasu jednotlivce. V roce 1923 své zkušenosti zaznamenala v knize My Disillusionment in Russia . Během života ve Velké Británii, Kanadě a Francii napsala autobiografii Living My Life . Když ve Španělsku propukla občanská válka, Goldmanová tam odjela podpořit anarchistickou revoluci. Zemřela 14. května 1940 v Torontu ve věku 70 let.

Obdivovatelé ji za jejího života oslavovali jako volnomyšlenkářskou rebelku, zatímco kritici ji odsuzovali jako zastánkyni politicky motivovaných vražd a násilné revoluce. Ve svých textech a přednáškách se věnovala širokému poli témat od věznění přes ateismus, svobodu projevu, militarismus, kapitalismus, manželství a volnou lásku až po homosexualitu. Nesouhlasila sice s první vlnou feminismu a jejím bojem za volební právo žen, ale politickou otázku genderu se jí podařilo nově propojit s anarchismem. Wikipedia  

✵ 27. červen 1868 – 14. květen 1940   •   Další jména ఎమ్మా గోల్డ్‌మేన్, ايما گولڊمين
Emma Goldman foto
Emma Goldman: 109   citátů 0   lajků

Emma Goldman: Citáty anglicky

“Anarchism stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion and liberation of the human body from the coercion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government. It stands for a social order based on the free grouping of individuals…”

Emma Goldman kniha Anarchism and Other Essays

Varianta: Anarchism, then, really stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government.
Zdroj: Anarchism and Other Essays

“Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the defier of all laws, of all conventions; love, the freest, the most powerful moulder of human destiny; how can such an all-compelling force be synonymous with that poor little State and Church-begotten weed, marriage?
Free love? As if love is anything but free!”

"Marriage and Love" in Anarchism and Other Essays (1911)
Kontext: Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the defier of all laws, of all conventions; love, the freest, the most powerful moulder of human destiny; how can such an all-compelling force be synonymous with that poor little State and Church-begotten weed, marriage?
Free love? As if love is anything but free! Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love. Man has subdued bodies, but all the power on earth has been unable to subdue love. Man has conquered whole nations, but all his armies could not conquer love. Man has chained and fettered the spirit, but he has been utterly helpless before love. High on a throne, with all the splendor and pomp his gold can command, man is yet poor and desolate, if love passes him by. And if it stays, the poorest hovel is radiant with warmth, with life and color. Thus love has the magic power to make of a beggar a king. Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere.

“Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.”

Anarchism: What It Really Stands For (1910) http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_archives/goldman/aando/anarchism.html
Kontext: Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think. The widespread mental indolence, so prevalent in society, proves this to be only too true. Rather than to go to the bottom of any given idea, to examine into it's origing and meaning, most people will either condem it alltogether, or rely on some superficial or perjudicial definition of non-essentials

“It is everywhere present, in habits, tastes, dress, thoughts and ideas.”

"The Individual, Society and the State" (1940) http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/goldman/works/1940/individual.htm
Kontext: The strongest bulwark of authority is uniformity; the least divergence from it is the greatest crime. The wholesale mechanisation of modern life has increased uniformity a thousandfold. It is everywhere present, in habits, tastes, dress, thoughts and ideas. Its most concentrated dullness is "public opinion." Few have the courage to stand out against it. He who refuses to submit is at once labelled "queer," "different," and decried as a disturbing element in the comfortable stagnancy of modern life.

“Its first ethical precept is the identity of means used and aims sought. The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and wellbeing.”

Emma Goldman kniha My Disillusionment in Russia

My Disillusionment in Russia (1923)
Kontext: Its first ethical precept is the identity of means used and aims sought. The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and wellbeing. Unless this be the essential aim of revolution, violent social changes would have no justification. For external social alterations can be, and have been, accomplished by the normal processes of evolution. Revolution, on the contrary, signifies not mere external change, but internal, basic, fundamental change. That internal change of concepts and ideas, permeating ever-larger social strata, finally culminates in the violent upheaval known as revolution.

“The whole history of man is continuous proof of the maxim that to divest one's methods of ethical concepts means to sink into the depths of utter demoralization.”

Emma Goldman kniha My Disillusionment in Russia

My Disillusionment in Russia (1923)
Kontext: The great and inspiring aims of the Revolution became so clouded with and obscured by the methods used by the ruling political power that it was hard to distinguish what was temporary means and what final purpose. Psychologically and socially the means necessarily influence and alter the aims. The whole history of man is continuous proof of the maxim that to divest one's methods of ethical concepts means to sink into the depths of utter demoralization. In that lies the real tragedy of the Bolshevik philosophy as applied to the Russian Revolution. May this lesson not be in vain.

“Perhaps even more than constituted authority, it is social uniformity and sameness that harass the individual most.”

"The Individual, Society and the State" (1940) http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/goldman/works/1940/individual.htm
Kontext: Perhaps even more than constituted authority, it is social uniformity and sameness that harass the individual most. His very "uniqueness," "separateness" and "differentiation" make him an alien, not only in his native place, but even in his own home. Often more so than the foreign born who generally falls in with the established.

“The inherent tendency of the State is to concentrate, to narrow, and monopolize all social activities; the nature of revolution is, on the contrary, to grow, to broaden, and disseminate itself in ever-wider circles. In other words, the State is institutional and static; revolution is fluent, dynamic.”

Emma Goldman kniha My Disillusionment in Russia

My Disillusionment in Russia (1923)
Kontext: The STATE IDEA, the authoritarian principle, has been proven bankrupt by the experience of the Russian Revolution. If I were to sum up my whole argument in one sentence I should say: The inherent tendency of the State is to concentrate, to narrow, and monopolize all social activities; the nature of revolution is, on the contrary, to grow, to broaden, and disseminate itself in ever-wider circles. In other words, the State is institutional and static; revolution is fluent, dynamic. These two tendencies are incompatible and mutually destructive. The State idea killed the Russian Revolution and it must have the same result in all other revolutions, unless the libertarian idea prevail.

“We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs from flying machines upon helpless citizens.”

What is Patriotism? (1908)
Kontext: We Americans claim to be a peace-loving people. We hate bloodshed; we are opposed to violence. Yet we go into spasms of joy over the possibility of projecting dynamite bombs from flying machines upon helpless citizens. We are ready to hang, electrocute, or lynch anyone, who, from economic necessity, will risk his own life in the attempt upon that of some industrial magnate. Yet our hearts swell with pride at the thought that America is becoming the most powerful nation on earth, and that she will eventually plant her iron foot on the necks of all other nations.
Such is the logic of patriotism.

“I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. "I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things." Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world — prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.”

Emma Goldman kniha Living My Life

This incident was the source of a statement commonly attributed to Goldman that occurs in several variants:
If I can't dance, it's not my revolution!
If I can't dance, I don't want your revolution!
If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution.
A revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having.
If there won't be dancing at the revolution, I'm not coming.
Living My Life (1931)
Kontext: At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a young boy, took me aside. With a grave face, as if he were about to announce the death of a dear comrade, he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance. Certainly not with such reckless abandon, anyway. It was undignified for one who was on the way to become a force in the anarchist movement. My frivolity would only hurt the Cause.
I grew furious at the impudent interference of the boy. I told him to mind his own business. I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. "I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things." Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world — prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal. (p. 56)

“After all, it means thirteen dollars per month, three meals a day, and a place to sleep. Yet even necessity is not sufficiently strong a factor to bring into the army an element of character and manhood.”

What is Patriotism? (1908)
Kontext: Our writer claims that militarism can never become such a power in America as abroad, since it is voluntary with us, while compulsory in the Old World. Two very important facts, however, the gentleman forgets to consider. First, that conscription has created in Europe a deep-seated hatred of militarism among all classes of society. Thousands of young recruits enlist under protest and, once in the army, they will use every possible means to desert. Second, that it is the compulsory feature of militarism which has created a tremendous anti-militarist movement, feared by European Powers far more than anything else. After all, the greatest bulwark of capitalism is militarism. The very moment the latter is undermined, capitalism will totter. True, we have no conscription; that is, men are not usually forced to enlist in the army, but we have developed a far more exacting and rigid force--necessity. Is it not a fact that during industrial depressions there is a tremendous increase in the number of enlistments? The trade of militarism may not be either lucrative or honorable, but it is better than tramping the country in search of work, standing in the bread line, or sleeping in municipal lodging houses. After all, it means thirteen dollars per month, three meals a day, and a place to sleep. Yet even necessity is not sufficiently strong a factor to bring into the army an element of character and manhood. No wonder our military authorities complain of the "poor material" enlisting in the army and navy. This admission is a very encouraging sign. It proves that there is still enough of the spirit of independence and love of liberty left in the average American to risk starvation rather than don the uniform.

“Revolution, on the contrary, signifies not mere external change, but internal, basic, fundamental change. That internal change of concepts and ideas, permeating ever-larger social strata,”

Emma Goldman kniha My Disillusionment in Russia

My Disillusionment in Russia (1923)
Kontext: Its first ethical precept is the identity of means used and aims sought. The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and wellbeing. Unless this be the essential aim of revolution, violent social changes would have no justification. For external social alterations can be, and have been, accomplished by the normal processes of evolution. Revolution, on the contrary, signifies not mere external change, but internal, basic, fundamental change. That internal change of concepts and ideas, permeating ever-larger social strata, finally culminates in the violent upheaval known as revolution.

“There are, however, some potentates I would kill by any and all means at my disposal. They are Ignorance, Superstition, and Bigotry — the most sinister and tyrannical rulers on earth.”

Responding to audience questions during a speech in Detroit (1898); as recounted in Living My Life (1931), p. 207; quoted by Annie Laurie Gaylor in Women Without Superstition, p. 382
Kontext: Ladies and gentlemen, I came here to avoid as much as possible treading on your corns. I had intended to deal only with the basic issue of economics that dictates our lives from the cradle to the grave, regardless of our religion or moral beliefs. I see now that it was a mistake. If one enters a battle, he cannot be squeamish about a few corns. Here, then, are my answers: I do not believe in God, because I believe in man. Whatever his mistakes, man has for thousands of years past been working to undo the botched job your God has made.
As to killing rulers, it depends entirely on the position of the ruler. If it is the Russian Czar, I most certainly believe in dispatching him to where he belongs. If the ruler is as ineffectual as an American President, it is hardly worth the effort. There are, however, some potentates I would kill by any and all means at my disposal. They are Ignorance, Superstition, and Bigotry — the most sinister and tyrannical rulers on earth. As for the gentleman who asked if free love would not build more houses of prostitution, my answer is: They will all be empty if the men of the future look like him.

“True, we have no conscription; that is, men are not usually forced to enlist in the army, but we have developed a far more exacting and rigid force--necessity”

What is Patriotism? (1908)
Kontext: Our writer claims that militarism can never become such a power in America as abroad, since it is voluntary with us, while compulsory in the Old World. Two very important facts, however, the gentleman forgets to consider. First, that conscription has created in Europe a deep-seated hatred of militarism among all classes of society. Thousands of young recruits enlist under protest and, once in the army, they will use every possible means to desert. Second, that it is the compulsory feature of militarism which has created a tremendous anti-militarist movement, feared by European Powers far more than anything else. After all, the greatest bulwark of capitalism is militarism. The very moment the latter is undermined, capitalism will totter. True, we have no conscription; that is, men are not usually forced to enlist in the army, but we have developed a far more exacting and rigid force--necessity. Is it not a fact that during industrial depressions there is a tremendous increase in the number of enlistments? The trade of militarism may not be either lucrative or honorable, but it is better than tramping the country in search of work, standing in the bread line, or sleeping in municipal lodging houses. After all, it means thirteen dollars per month, three meals a day, and a place to sleep. Yet even necessity is not sufficiently strong a factor to bring into the army an element of character and manhood. No wonder our military authorities complain of the "poor material" enlisting in the army and navy. This admission is a very encouraging sign. It proves that there is still enough of the spirit of independence and love of liberty left in the average American to risk starvation rather than don the uniform.

“Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere.”

"Marriage and Love" in Anarchism and Other Essays (1911)
Kontext: Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the defier of all laws, of all conventions; love, the freest, the most powerful moulder of human destiny; how can such an all-compelling force be synonymous with that poor little State and Church-begotten weed, marriage?
Free love? As if love is anything but free! Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love. Man has subdued bodies, but all the power on earth has been unable to subdue love. Man has conquered whole nations, but all his armies could not conquer love. Man has chained and fettered the spirit, but he has been utterly helpless before love. High on a throne, with all the splendor and pomp his gold can command, man is yet poor and desolate, if love passes him by. And if it stays, the poorest hovel is radiant with warmth, with life and color. Thus love has the magic power to make of a beggar a king. Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere.

“He who refuses to submit is at once labelled "queer," "different," and decried as a disturbing element in the comfortable stagnancy of modern life.”

"The Individual, Society and the State" (1940) http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/goldman/works/1940/individual.htm
Kontext: The strongest bulwark of authority is uniformity; the least divergence from it is the greatest crime. The wholesale mechanisation of modern life has increased uniformity a thousandfold. It is everywhere present, in habits, tastes, dress, thoughts and ideas. Its most concentrated dullness is "public opinion." Few have the courage to stand out against it. He who refuses to submit is at once labelled "queer," "different," and decried as a disturbing element in the comfortable stagnancy of modern life.

“If voting changed anything, it would be made illegal”

Variants:
"If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal."
"If voting changed anything it would be illegal."
"If voting made a difference it would be illegal."
"If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it." - also incorrectly attributed to American humorist Mark Twain or American peace activist Philip Berrigan..
Although often attributed to Goldman, there is no evidence that she made this statement. The earliest known example of this quote is from a 1976 newspaper opinion piece: "If voting could change anything, it would be made illegal".
Disputed
Zdroj: Snopes.com - Election Dissection http://www.snopes.com/mark-twain-voting-quote/
Zdroj: Borden, Robert S., "Voting is Dishonest and Fraudulent" https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5211342/if_voting_could_change_anything_it/, The Sun (Lowell, Massachusetts), 1976-09-24, p. 7

“The most violent element in society is ignorance.”

Varianta: The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.

“When we can't dream any longer we die.”

Quoted by Margaret C. Anderson in "Emma Goldman in Chicago" http://books.google.com/books?id=zstCAQAAMAAJ&q=%22When+we+can't+dream+any+longer+we+die%22&pg=PA321#v=onepage, Mother Earth magazine (December 1914)

Podobní autoři

Helen Keller foto
Helen Keller 29
americká autorka a politická aktivistka
Rosa Parksová foto
Rosa Parksová 4
americká lidskoprávní aktivistka
Margaret Atwood foto
Margaret Atwood 6
kanadská spisovatelka
Brigitte Bardot foto
Brigitte Bardot 24
francouzská modelka, herečka, zpěvačka a aktivistka
Simone Weil foto
Simone Weil 9
francouzská filozofka, křesťanská mystička a sociální aktiv…
Barbra Streisand foto
Barbra Streisand 5
americká zpěvačka, herečka, spisovatelka, filmová producent…
Simone de Beauvoir foto
Simone de Beauvoir 44
francouzská spisovatelka, intelektuálka, existencialistická…
Maya Angelou foto
Maya Angelou 35
americká autorka a básnířka
Audre Lorde foto
Audre Lorde 5
spisovatelka a aktivistka
Kate Milettová foto
Kate Milettová 1
spisovatelka, aktivistka