The Impeachment Hearing Room

An Answer To The Questions Some Have Raised Regarding The Source Of, And My Affection For, This Quote:

"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!"

- Emile Zola, J'accuse! (1898) -

In an “Open Letter” Émile Zola risked his career and even his life on 13 January 1898, when his "J'accuse" [1], [2] was published on the front page of the Paris daily, ...

Émile Zola - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From The Alfred Dreyfus Case

It has everything to do with my regard for numerous courageous French writers and philosophers and their staunch defense of freedom, liberty, equality, free speech and resistance to the points of revolt and revolution, all with open eyes as to the responsibility they bear for their advocacies and beliefs, for their responsibilities to their fellow beings.

You are well aware of my orientation and attachment to Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, and that my hand reaches first for The Declaration of Independence before it reaches for The Constitution and in so doing I have expressed both position and my fear that we shall not restore this nation under the protective wings of our good angels but shall resolve these issues in due course, all efforts at peaceful resolution having been exhausted, in the streets of America. I hope I am wrong but the observations of human nature and history provided by Jefferson say differently; the strident resolve of Henry and the drive to cause change, at some great cost, on the part of Sam Adams are more realistic human actions, older ideas and ideals having failed.

Martin Luther King understood that not all things can be accomplished in peace and even Ghandi acknowledged that reality in the face of man’s brutality when he said:

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life. “

-Mahatma Gandhi-

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