Sophie Scholl
Janusz Korczak
Rosa Luxemburg
and all the others who resisted quietly and not so quietly, you were my childhood heroes. I will now try to honor your example by continuing your resistance against fascism. I will not go to sleep (again). I will resist. So far, I’ve only been willing to quit my corporate job for my values, giving up money and prestige for a clearer conscience. Now more might be called for. I am ready.

Janusz Korczak decided not to abandon his children not because he thought this would bring down Hitler. He chose death because he knew that his presence would give his children comfort in the last minutes of their lives.

Sophie Scholl simply passed out flyers because she knew that was the right thing to do, that people needed to know what was going on. She also knew that this wouldn’t bring down Hitler. She simply chose to do this because maybe one person would also start resisting or one person would be slightly less afraid.

Totalitarian regimes require our collaboration. They use fear to get us to collaborate because morality and common humanity are not on their side. The more of us refuse to collaborate – big and small – the less total the regime will be.

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