You have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong

This, Reading Frederick Douglass in Rochester by Kevin D. Williamson, is outrageous on the face of it but it also illustrates the persistent relevance of texts from decades and centuries ago. I find Frederick Douglass' story fascinating, his writing gripping, and some of his insights perennial.

Find out just what any people will quietly submit to, and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.

That is so cruelly and dangerously true. And still pertinent as illustrated by the opinion in the New York Times, Go to Trial: Crash the Justice System by Michelle Alexander.

People should understand that simply exercising their rights would shake the foundations of our justice system which works only so long as we accept its terms.