Its kind of a theme in Twains writing. That doing the right thing often comes at the cost of doing the wrong thing in the eyes of the public.

This passage is straight up burned into my brain. I think about it so often and it kind of informs my whole moral philosophy: "Every man must speak, and it is a solemn and weighty responsibility not to lightly be flung aside at the bullying of the pulpit, press, or the empty catch phrases of politicians. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way and that way be the right way according to your convictions of what is right, hold your head high, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

Like god damn dude. Still gives me chills every time i read it. Like its not just a responsibility to fight for what you think is right but also to not fool yourself and fight for a cause you know deep down isn't right and convince yourself that it is. So many people harbor insincere causes or bear flags for a false sense of justice and false sense of morality either because its easy or because it benefits them but he's straight up saying that they're cowards for taking the easy way out. And that real truth and real justice is never the easy road, it's the path less traveled and it takes real courage and conviction to walk that path alone.