Dave Dellinger Quotes (5 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

“Henceforth, no decent citizen owes one scrap of allegiance (if he ever did) to American law, American custom or American institutions.”

Dave Dellinger

Context: The way of life that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is reported to have roasted alive a million people in Tokyo overnight is international and dominates every nation of the world, but we live in the United States, so our struggle is here. With this way of life, death would be more appropriate. There could be no truce or quarter. The prejudices of patriotism, the pressures of our friends and fear of unpopularity and death should not hold us back any longer. It should be total war against the economic and political and social system which is dominant in this country. The American system has been destroying human life in peace and in war, at home and abroad for decades. Now it has produced the growing infamy of atom bombing. Besides these brutal facts, the tidbits of democracy mean nothing. Henceforth, no decent citizen owes one scrap of allegiance (if he ever did) to American law, American custom or American institutions.

“The prejudices of patriotism, the pressures of our friends and fear of unpopularity and death should not hold us back any longer. It should be total war against the economic and political and social system which is dominant in this country.”

Dave Dellinger

Context: The way of life that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is reported to have roasted alive a million people in Tokyo overnight is international and dominates every nation of the world, but we live in the United States, so our struggle is here. With this way of life, death would be more appropriate. There could be no truce or quarter. The prejudices of patriotism, the pressures of our friends and fear of unpopularity and death should not hold us back any longer. It should be total war against the economic and political and social system which is dominant in this country. The American system has been destroying human life in peace and in war, at home and abroad for decades. Now it has produced the growing infamy of atom bombing. Besides these brutal facts, the tidbits of democracy mean nothing. Henceforth, no decent citizen owes one scrap of allegiance (if he ever did) to American law, American custom or American institutions.

“I wanted the State of Massachusetts, which was called a Commonwealth but was filled with private wealth and private property, to change, as the early Christians had changed. They "had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need."
… at St. Francis Acres, the intentional community to which I belonged for about twenty years, for the last fifteen years we "divided the proceeds among the fellowship [the members] according to individual needs," even as we tried to share outside the community as well.”

Dave Dellinger

From Yale to Jail: The Life Story of A Moral Dissenter (1993).

“THE COURT:… Mr. Dellinger, do you care to say anything? Only in respect to punishment.
MR. DELLINGER: Yes… and I hope you will do me the courtesy not to interrupt me while I am talking.
THE COURT: I won't interrupt you as long as you are respectful.
MR. DELLINGER: Well. I will talk about the facts and the facts don't always encourage false respect.”

Dave Dellinger

United States of America vs. David T. Dellinger et al.

“THE COURT:... Mr. Dellinger, do you care to say anything? Only in respect to punishment.”

Dave Dellinger

'MR. DELLINGER: Yes . . . and I hope you will do me the courtesy not to interrupt me while I am talking.'
THE COURT: I won't interrupt you as long as you are respectful.
'MR. DELLINGER: Well. I will talk about the facts and the facts don't always encourage false respect.'
United States of America vs. David T. Dellinger et al.