Erica Jong's quote, "If you don't risk anything, you risk even more," can be proven. There are many examples in literature and history of people risking a lot more if they did not initially take a risk.

The American Revolution was an example that proves this quote. Initially, the colonists were imposed under many British taxes such as the Stamp Act and Sugar Act. These acts provoked the colonists in the New World. The colonists risked being killed by committing treason to their own country. They wrote the Declaration of Independence and began open against their own country! If they did not place their own lives in peril, their conditions would have gradually worsened and they would be even more subjugated. The colonists in the Revolutionary War actually risked less in the overall process by taking a risk to begin.

Leonardo da Vinci's studies in anatomy are another example that proves this quote. Da Vinci did profound research in anatomy by opening dead bodies of humans. Opening any person's body in the 15th century was strictly illegal according to the Church. People were heavily punished or sentenced to death for opposing religion. Copernicus had been jailed for opposing the religious belief that the Earth was at the center of the solar system. Da Vinci could have revealed his studies and saved many lives but instead chose to remain quiet about his findings and risking his life. Da Vinci was imposed under a risky life in which he died a poor man instead of taking a risk and perhaps being very famous and wealthy.

In the Nigerian novel Things Fall Apart, the protagonist Okonkwo is not a risk taker. By the end of the novel, the Europeans take over Okonkwo's village and force all inhabitants to convert to Christianity. Okonkwo stubbornly resists. He does not take the risk of converting. He would be ill fated by his own gods and lose respect from his neighboring villagers. The novel ends with Okonkwo hanging himself to his death. Okonkwo risked his own life by not taking a small risk of converting to a different religion.

Erica Johg was accurate saying that not taking any risks is a risk itself. The American Revolution, Leonardo da Vinci, Okonkwo and many other examples prove her quote.