Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
Eugene Victor Debs spoke those eloquent words, expressing solidarity with the whole human race, on the day he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He had been charged, tried and convicted for exercising his constitutional right to free speech.
For many Americans, Eugene Debs is just a footnote in our history, some "third-party" candidate who finished near the bottom of five presidential elections. If you've heard of him at all (and you're not a professional labor organizer), it's probably because a Facebook friend recently shared a link to the Bangable Dudes in History blog and you saw that the (balding) silver fox Gene Debs came in at No. 8. But Debs was much more than a bangable dude with a silver tongue and the bad boy vibe from multiple trips to prison.
Eugene Victor Debs was a passionate champion for human rights, democratic values and social justice who believed in the inherent dignity and worth of every human person.