Originally shared by Tom de Lorenzo“The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. He frees himself and shows the ways to others. Freedom and slavery are mental states. Therefore, the first thing is to say to yourself: ‘I shall no longer accept the role of a slave. I shall not obey orders as such but shall disobey them when they are in conflict with my conscience.’”
(Gandhi, Harijan, 24 February 1946; quoted in M. K. Gandhi, Nonviolence in Peace and War, vol. II [Ahmedabad, India: Navajivan, 1949], p. 10.)
“It is not so much British guns that are responsible for our subjection as our voluntary cooperation.”
(Gandhi, Young India, 9 February 1921; quoted in Bose, Selections from Gandhi, p. 116.)
“I believe, and everybody must grant, that no Government can exist for a single moment without the cooperation of the people, willing or forced, and if people suddenly withdraw their cooperation in every detail, the Government will come to a standstill.”
(Gandhi, Young India, 18 August 1920; quoted in Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance, p. 157; Indian ed.: Satyagraha, p. 157.
"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 and democracy?" ~Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi