I stir in it for the sad reason that no other mortal will move, and if I do not, why, it is left undone. The amount of it, be sure, is merely a Scream; but sometimes a scream is better than a thesis.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet

Journal (1838)

Referring to his attempts to stop the US Government's forced expulsion of the Cherokee from their land.