How we cite our quotes: (Entry. Paragraph)
Quote #1
Small gold-lettering on the window of a store caught my attention: Catholic book store. Knowing the Catholic stand on racism, I wondered if this shop might cash a Negro' s check. With some hesitation, I opened the door and entered. I was prepared to be disappointed. "Would you cash a 20-dollar travelers check for me?" I asked the proprietress. "Of course," she said without hesitation, as though nothing could be more natural. She did not even study me. (10.42)
History snack: the Vatican's official position on racism was that it is bad, bad, bad. So it makes sense that Griffin hopes that he can cash his check there.
Quote #2
I thought of Maritain's conclusion that the only solution to the problems of man is the return of charity (in the old embracing sense of caritas, not in the stingy literal sense it has assumed in our language and in our days) and metaphysics. Or, more simply, the maxim of St. Augustine: "Love, and then do what you will." (13.105)
Okay this is kind of complicated, but it's important to understand what Griffin means by caritas. When we think charity, we think of giving to people in need or donating to some kind of organization through a text on our smartphones. That's not what he's talking about. Caritas is the love of God according to the Catholic religion. So when humans express caritas, they are supposed to love other people the same way that God loves humans. So kind of the way your parents love you even if you crash their car and flunked all of your grades that semester. If we felt that way about everyone, there definitely wouldn't be any prejudice.
Quote #3
We spoke of the whites. "They're God's children, just like us," he said. "Even if they don't act very godlike any more. God tells us straight—we've got to love them, no ifs, ands, and buts about it. Why, if we hated them, we'd be sunk down to their level. There's plenty of us doing just that, too." (13.121)
Not only the speaker of this quote a wonderful peace-loving old man, but he's also a proponent of the type of nonviolent resistance that Griffin advocates for at the very end of the book.