The New Yorker Quotes

Context

This line was written by Hannah Arendt in an essay called "Reflections Civil Disobedience" published in The New Yorker (September 12, 1970).

Arendt was a brilliant philosopher and writer who studied government and politics and what makes people tick. She wrote a bunch of books, but this quote surfaced after her controversial work about the Eichmann trials (he'd been involved in the Holocaust).

Basically, Arendt is telling people that they don't have any right to judge, because if someone takes a risky stand for a cause, there's always a chance he or she will shut up and take it back. After all, sometimes going against the grain works better in theory than in practice.

Where you've heard it

You'll find this one on any quote-collecting website and even in wall-decal form.

Journalist Corey Robin also wrote an extensive article about Arendt.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

It's a bit tough to revive a political statement, especially one from a brilliant thinker like Arendt, without pretense. But this one has a definite element of truth to it.