More from Gabrielle Giffords

Standing up for one's own integrity makes you no friends. It is costly. Yet defiance of the mob, in the service of that which is right, is one of the highest expressions of courage I know.

GG

Gabrielle Giffords

Scripps College Commencement 2009, 2009

0:00

Video starts at 0:00 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

In the most serious passage of her speech, Giffords warned the graduates that there would be 'many, many times' when they would be encouraged — 'in shockingly plain ways' — to take the easy way, to go along with the group in contradiction to their own principles. She invoked the Faustian bargain and told them that 'the safety of the world, in some sense, depends on your saying no to inhumane ideas.' The words would take on an almost prophetic weight after January 8, 2011, when Giffords was shot while meeting with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket. She survived, but the attack — born of political extremism — was exactly the kind of violence that erupts when people stop standing up for what is right. Her speech at Scripps had been a call to moral courage; her life after the shooting became its embodiment.

Collect Your Favorite Quotes

Save quotes that inspire you. Build your personal collection of wisdom in Minditly — available on both platforms.