People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
If I was afraid of being killed, I would never speak out against the government.
Interpretation
Courage is essential for speaking out against oppression despite the risks involved.
Aung San Suu Kyi articulates the importance of bravery in the face of fear. Speaking out against authority, especially in oppressive regimes, requires immense courage, and the willingness to confront potential dangers is a vital aspect of advocating for justice and rights.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about civil rights to inspire activism among the audience.
People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.
This was the way I was brought up to think of politics, that politics was to do with ethics, it was to do with responsibility, it was to do with service, so I think I was conditioned to think like that, and I'm too old to change now.
My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.
If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.
Where there is no justice there can be no secure peace.
Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. Now we are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die, we die defending our rights.
I loved it. I enjoyed myself so much, and that was what other people couldn't realize. They thought I was going through a nightmare running all day long.
Let me announce, with all the strength at my command, that I am not a terrorist and I never was, expect perhaps in the beginning of my revolutionary career. And I am convinced that we cannot gain anything through those methods.
But every time the workers come out in the only way they know to protest against conditions which are unbearable the strong hand of the law is allowed to press down heavily upon us.
I have a fierce will to live. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others - and I am one of those - never give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the very end.
One of the biggest ways we don't support ourselves is by not asking for support. Asking can take courage, but the reward is immense.
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