“Above all, try always to be able to feel deeply any injustice committed against any person in any part of the world. It is the most beautiful quality of a revolutionary.”
Che Guevara · Letter to his children, 1965
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Remember that the revolution is what is important, and each one of us, alone, is worth nothing.
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About this quote
Meaning
Guevara is urging his children to subordinate personal ambition and individual identity to the larger cause they are part of. The revolution, in his view, is the only thing that carries lasting meaning; any single person, including himself, is replaceable and insignificant when measured against it. It is both a call to humility and a statement about where ultimate value lies.
Context
This line also comes from the 1965 letter to his children, written as Guevara was preparing to leave Cuba to pursue revolutionary struggle elsewhere. Throughout the letter he tries to instill in them the values he believed defined a worthy life. The emphasis on collective purpose over individual worth reflects ideas he held consistently throughout his adult life, and which shaped the choices he made, including the decision to give up security and family proximity in pursuit of broader goals.
About the author
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928 and became one of the most iconic revolutionary figures of the twentieth century. Trained as a physician, he became radicalized through travels across Latin America and went on to play a leading military role in the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro. After Cuba, he continued seeking to foment revolution in other countries. He was captured and executed in Bolivia in 1967. His image and ideas have remained deeply influential in political movements around the world, admired by some and sharply criticized by others.
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