By the whim of one man with a pair of hands, the structure and tenor of their daily life were shaken, as they can always be shaken by any man contemptuous of humanity and fearless of its laws. They began to realize that the pillars that supported the peaceable society in which they lived were mere straws that anybody could snap; that laws were powerful only so long as they were obeyed; that the police were potent only so long as they were feared. By the power of his hands this one man had made a whole community do something new: he had made it think, and left it gasping at the obvious.
From 1932, Thomas Burke’s tale. One of the best in human history at what it does. Read it, albeit truncated, here. The complete version is only $3.99 on Kindle and well worth it.