I am not going to urge you to vote.

I am simply going to express my opinion that anyone who does not vote at this election is a traitor to the Republic. And never knowingly will I shake hands with him or sit down to a meal with him. For, in the hour of gravest peril, he failed to do the only specific duty which is laid upon him as a citizen of this Republic. No one has a "duty" to be President, no one even has a "duty" to be a soldier until summoned by our Commander in Chief, but the humblest or laziest member of our society has a duty to vote.

Henry Luce, October 1940

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[–] 4 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Do you have a source for this quote? The only previous mention of it I can find is this unsourced Reddit post. Makes me skeptical about its authenticity.

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 3 days ago* (3 children)

    It's from a letter from the editor from LIFE Magazine from October 1940. That's me on the old website, posting it originally. Unfortunately, that's from an older phone so I haven't got the original page scan, but the full text of the article is quoted in the comments over there.

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