“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”
This quote is by Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, who lived from 1809 to 1865. He spoke these words when he was in the Illinois House of Representatives, 20 years before he served as President during the Civil War. His words reflect the way he approached life, both in his earlier years and during the war when one of the struggles was to end the terrible injustice and cruelty of slavery.
Thankfully, there are many people who devote time and effort supporting causes they believe to be just. Those efforts have resulted in a higher quality of life for innumerable people, opportunities that previously had been withheld becoming available, more people (including women) having the right to vote, and many discriminatory practices being made illegal. There continue to be many societal causes that need our support, some of which are ensuring that sufficient food and affordable housing are available for all children and adults, doing actions to protect land and water resources and reduce climate change, and decreasing violence.
In addition to supporting societal and global causes that are just, we can also apply Lincoln’s words to concerns that are more individual and personal. Each of us adds to that which is just in the way we think about and interact with other people. When we are nonjudgmental and respectful toward others, we help to make life better for them and for us. And when we endeavor to be more humble and more generous with our time and abilities, we also make life better for them and for us. .
Lincoln refers to the probability of failing. It’s essential that we don’t let our fear of possible failure in these and other endeavors keep us from continuing to support just causes. Trying to discern guidance from our inner voice and then trying to follow that guidance, both for societal/global causes and for help in making personal changes, is a valuable way to be living as we should be living. Trying to follow that discernment will help us to overcome the fear of failure and to continue to work toward that which we believe to be just.