We take from those we associate with some of their characteristics. We may take only a little, and that unconsciously, but the result is unavoidable even if the association is only one of hate and war. This truth would provide the advocates of nonresistance and nonviolence with a good argument for their cause but other factors need to be taken into consideration. What is the benefit of slightly uplifting the character of some men at the terrible price of degrading the character of an entire culture for generations? For when a nation is handed over to an invader, its culture is handed over at the same time. All expressions of the arts, the intellect, religion, mysticism, and philosophy are then at the mercy of, and will be reshaped by, inferior minds and brutal characters.
-- Notebooks Category 6: Emotions and Ethics > Chapter 7 : Miscellaneous Ethical Issues > # 37
