He who sees injustice and does not become angry is not a good man.
I had a dream one night. I was perfectly calm and clear. I saw trees being hacked down and birds being shot out of the air...
and I walked on, calm and clear.
I saw my books being burned...
and walked on, calm and clear.
I saw churches being smashed, and priests being urinated on...
and walked on, calm and clear.
I saw children in sweatshops by day and brothels by night...
and walked on, calm and clear.
I saw the people I loved being exploited...
and walked on, calm and clear.
I saw my mother being mugged, and I walked on, calm and clear.
I returned home and continued my empty meditation, calm and clear.
We get angry for a reason. It’s a sign: “I have to do something about this. I WILL do something about this. It is not satisfactory to walk on.” I woke up, cold and frightened that I had become so lost that I could no longer feel the heat of anger. There were things to be fought for, and I had convinced myself to drift and let them be. In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas: “He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.”