"The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing - for the sheer fun and joy of it - to go right ahead and fight, knowing you're going to lose. You mustn't feel like a martyr. You've got to enjoy it."
On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 2:37 AM, Angelus Novus <fuerdenkommunismus at yahoo.com
> wrote:
"What does the entire history of socialism and of all modern revolutions
> show us? The first spark of class struggle in Europe, the revolt of the
> silk weavers in Lyon in 1831, ended with a heavy defeat; the Chartist
> movement in Britain ended in defeat; the uprising of the Parisian
> proletariat in the June days of 1848 ended with a crushing defeat; and
> the Paris commune ended with a terrible defeat. The whole road of
> socialism – so far as revolutionary struggles are concerned – is paved
> with nothing but thunderous defeats. Yet, at the same time, history
> marches inexorably, step by step, toward final victory! Where would we
> be today without those “defeats,” from which we draw historical
> experience, understanding, power and idealism? Today, as we advance
> into the final battle of the proletarian class war, we stand on the
> foundation of those very defeats; and we can do without any of them,
> because each one contributes to our strength and understanding.
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."