Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Oppression happens slowly over time, and people often fail to notice until it is too late.
In plain terms
Bad things happen little by little, and you might not notice until it is too late.
What can you take from it?
Stay alert to small changes that signal growing oppression.

Where it applies

  • political shifts
  • social change
  • personal reflection

Putting it to work

  • track trends
  • discuss changes
  • mobilize early

Questions to consider

  • What small changes worry you?
  • How do you notice change?

Another view

Not all change is dangerous; some improves society.

More from William O. Douglas

  1. A function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purposes when it induces a condition of unrest…

    Permalink to quote #25
  2. Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why priva…

    Permalink to quote #27
  3. One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the First Amendment.

    Permalink to quote #24

Related quotes

  1. The disposition of mankind, whether as rulers or as fellow-citizens, to impose their own opinions and inclinations as a rule of conduct on others, is so energe…

    John Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill quote #18
  2. It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power - power to oppress others. The oppressed want above all to imitate their…

    Eric HofferEric Hoffer quote #33
  3. Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.

    George WashingtonGeorge Washington quote #1