Burke’s actual words are far less individualistic: “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”4 This is not a statement about how “good men” must be active and engaged in order to fight evil head-on; rather, it’s a call for good people to band together and stand firm against the evil forces attacking them. This quote doesn’t praise activity for the sake of activity, it praises community. It suggests that not all battles for good are direct clashes of power, and that violent “contemptible struggles” often
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