A few days ago, journalist Bledi Fevziu commented on a video from Venezuela recorded before the abduction of Nicolás Maduro. Maduro’s original statement, spoken in Spanish, was “Te espero aquí en Miraflores. No tardes, cobarde.” (“I’m waiting for you here in Miraflores. Don’t be late, you coward.”)
Fevziu paraphrased this for his Albanian audience as,“Te pres këtu në Miraflores. Mos u vono, o frikacak.”
After showing this, Fevziu added, “Prandaj ajo shprehja ‘mos u zi e mos u përplas me të madhin’ vlen edhe sot.” (“That’s why the saying ‘don’t clash with the powerful’ still applies today.”)
The implicit message is clear: “Look what happens when you confront someone more powerful—you will suffer the consequences.” This is not an analysis of events but a warning. It frames courage as self‑destructive and fear as wisdom, turning a political situation into a lesson in submission.
Why This Sentence Is Dangerous
It sounds like a proverb, but it carries a deeply normative message:
Power matters more than principle.
It suggests that courage is reckless, that resistance is futile, and that size or status confers moral authority. A sentence like this discourages legitimate self‑defense, suppresses criticism, and weakens accountability.
The Power Logic Behind It
The underlying frame is simple: “Power decides—not law, not justice.”
But in any functioning legal system, the principle is the opposite: if an attack is unlawful, the right to defend yourself remains intact—regardless of the attacker’s size or influence.
Power is not a moral argument.
The phrase functions as a shield for those with influence, ensuring that the powerful remain unchallenged and unaccountable. It reinforces the position of those who thrive on dominance and intimidation, sustaining systems built on fear and the quiet surrender of the many. Those who acquiesce—resigned to the prevailing order—become, often unknowingly, complicit in maintaining this structure.
Conversely, the same dictum erodes the resolve of individuals striving for justice. It undermines the efforts of the less powerful, who must defend their rights against overwhelming odds. Most gravely, it diminishes the spirit of anyone willing to act with courage, casting bravery as recklessness and reinforcing the notion that resistance is both dangerous and futile. In doing so, it drains the moral strength of those who might otherwise challenge injustice, leaving society weakened in its essential capacity for self‑defense and renewal.
In the end, the sentence creates a climate in which courage is framed as “dangerous” and compliance as “wise.”
Journalists, in particular, carry responsibility for the frames they introduce into public discourse. Those who repeat such sentences uncritically reinforce a logic that devalues courage and legitimizes power—and that runs counter to the core of journalistic responsibility.
Historical or Contemporary Examples
If we applied this logic consistently, a small country like Greenland would be forced to conclude, “We are too small to defend our interests.” Absurd—and yet the example reveals how destructive the frame truly is.
History contradicts the proverb entirely.
Small nations have defended their sovereignty against empires; civil rights movements have challenged entrenched power; individuals like Gandhi, Mandela, or Václav Havel confronted systems far larger than themselves. Progress has never come from obedience to the powerful but from those who refused to accept the inevitability of domination. Even Albania, a small nation, once resisted the vast Ottoman Empire under Skanderbeg—a reminder that courage, not size, determines the course of history. Had they followed the logic of yielding to the stronger, their story would never have been written.
A Simple Moral Truth
A truly equitable society rests on a simple truth, modest in form yet profound in consequence:
Rights are not measured by might or multitude.
Genuine moral authority arises from the integrity of one’s principles, the legitimacy of one’s actions, and the dignity with which one conducts oneself—never from the mere possession of power.
Courage must not be mistaken for folly or rashness. On the contrary, courage is the vital force that propels humanity forward, the living spark that illuminates the path of progress.