American Views Abroad

 
Kurt Tucholsky Quote

This is a repost, with kind permission from blogger Indeterminacy, of his recent post at the English language Kurt Tucholsky blog:

A recent editorial "The Case for Impeachment" in Harper's Magazine, written by Lewis H. Lapham quotes in the beginning Kurt Tucholsky:

A country is not only what it does - it is also what it puts up with, what it tolerates.

I've located the original of this:

Aber ein Land ist nicht nur das, was es tut - es ist auch das, was es verträgt, was es duldet.

The passage originates from a letter by Kurt Tucholsky to the German-Jewish author Arnold Zweig. I don't think the translation can be improved upon.
For those who can read German, the entire letter is posted at the Sudelblog.
- posted by Gloria @ 6:41 PM