Thanks to everyone that responded to my question about the source of the
following quote: "A society will be judged by the ways in which it
treats its weakest citizens."
Although no one was able to pin down a source for an exact match, this
quote by Hubert Humphrey comes close: "The moral test of a government
is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those
who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the
shadow of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped." 1976
http://www.hhh.umn.edu/humphrey-forum/quot.htm
Other interesting responses were:
- Fydor Dostoevsky: "A society should be judged not by how it treats
its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals."
http://www.lawbuzz.com/justice/hurricane/now_what.htm
- Mahatma Gandhi: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated ... I hold that, the
more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man
from the cruelty of man."
http://www.baacs.org/print.asp?section_id=67
- Biblical prophets: A society's integrity is judged not by its wealth
and power, but by how it treats its most vulnerable members.
http://esr.earlham.edu/willson_wallis.html
- Atkins v Virgini opinion: People with learning disabilities are
limited and that "A moral and civilized society diminishes itself if its
system of justice does not afford recognition and consideration of
thoselimitations in a meaningful way." Atkins is at 536 US 304, 153 L
Ed 2d335
- Other possible authors were Herodotus, Winston Churchill, and Thomas
Jefferson
- Someone thought that it might be inscribed on a building in DC, maybe
DOJ or Archives
Thanks again,
Bonnie
-- Bonnie Shucha Reference and Electronic Services Librarian University of Wisconsin - Madison Law Library Phone: 608-265-5513 bjshucha@wisc.edu http://library.law.wisc.edu
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