21st Century: Query 174 (Horace Mann)
“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” ~ Horace Mann was an American educational reformer and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. A central theme of his life was that “it is the law of our nature to desire happiness. This law is not local, but universal; not temporary, but eternal. It is not a law to be proved by exceptions, for it knows no exception.” How can ordinary people leave a positive mark on this world without necessarily becoming famous? Is it better to leave a negative mark than no mark at all? Why or why not? What can we learn from negative marks left by others? What does a “victory for humanity” look like? Examples from today and history? How can individuals with modest means win a “victory for humanity”? How does Mann’s central theme of desiring happiness closely align to a “victory for humanity”? How might it contradict it?