Octavia E. Butler: Sell Yourself Into Slavery
on Friday, June 22, 2018Octavia Butler Money Quote saying Our leaders can be understood by their own behavior and they will treat us just as they have always demonstrated with those actions. Octavia Butler said:
“To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery” — Octavia E. Butler
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In this quote, acclaimed author Octavia E. Butler seems to be warning about the dangers of following or submitting to dishonest and oppressive leaders.
She suggests that to be governed by a “liar” who cannot be trusted will inevitably lead to being “told lies” and misled. Butler also asserts that allowing a “tyrant” to wield power over a people or nation amounts to “selling yourself and those you love into slavery”, implying tyrannical rule crushes freedom and autonomy.
The overall interpretation is that Butler believed putting faith in leaders lacking integrity or who abuse their power for selfish ends will only result in harm, deception and loss of self-determination. She appears to be advocating the importance of discernment in leadership and guarding against ceding authority to those who wield it irresponsibly, unethically or for nefarious purposes according to her perspective expressed in this thought-provoking quote.