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With great privilege comes great responsibility. The Golden Rule. I cannot think of a single major religion or equitable society that does not encourage us to turn around and extend a hand to others less fortunate, but it requires effort. We're certainly seeing what it looks like when you turn around and shove someone to the ground, it destroys trust and the social fabric.

I think Martha's talent and drive were not only encouraged by her parents, but also directed her to address wrongs, to not settle. If her parents had not encouraged her, I suspect she'd have been sentenced to a life of feeling like a round peg in a square hole. What a waste. We are not always our parents and we can intentionally reject their example, but I think that coming from a supportive environment (not perfect, but overall loving and accepting) strongly influenced her. She saw others who made it up or couldn't get past their own egos (ahem, mostly men) , but she kept driving herself. She was far from perfect to be sure. I agree with your earlier email that she probably was slightly ADHD, perhaps a bit tone deaf to polite norms, but that also made her unwilling to look away or back down. Rather like Eleanor Roosevelt. Rather like most strong women throughout history.

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