Archive for category: Albert Schweitzer

“Under no circumstances do I want to be merely a ′common′ man. I have the right to be exceptional – if I can. I want opportunities, not security. I do not want to be a citizen who is humiliated and dulled by government support. I want to encounter risk, have desires and fulfill them, suffer disaster and enjoy success. I refuse to sell my own determination for a pittance. I would prefer to face life’s difficulties rather than lead a secure existence. I prefer the exciting tension of my own success to the dull calm of Utopia. I want neither to sacrifice my freedom for benefits nor my human dignity for charity. I have learned to think and act for myself, to look the world squarely in the face and to recognize that this is my achievement. This is what is meant when we say: I am a free man!”

Albert Schweitzer