Brave doesn't spread hate or bully the vulnerable. Brave doesn't put greed and self-interest over millions of lives. Brave doesn't cower behind lies and walls. Brave doesn't pit people against one another. That's what fear does.
Interpretation
Bravery involves protecting others rather than harming them and standing against fear-driven actions.
In this quote, Kirsten Gillibrand defines bravery not just as a lack of fear, but as the active choice to support and uplift vulnerable individuals rather than engaging in harmful behaviors such as greed, bullying, or spreading hatred. True courage, she argues, stands in stark opposition to fear and the negative consequences that arise when people act out of self-interest or permit division among one another.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about leadership qualities in challenging times.
In addition to being an economic security issue, the failure to pay women a salary that's equal to men for equal work is also a women's health issue. The fact is that the salary women are paid directly impacts the type of health care services they are able to access for both themselves and their families.
We'd certainly have paid leave already by now, we'd have equal pay, we'd have a living minimum wage - a lot of things would change having that diversity of opinion in Washington. We certainly wouldn't be debating whether women should have access to birth control.
I thought you'd rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.
In spite of our agonizing history, Native American people find much to celebrate. The songs, the dances, the culture and traditions surrounding planting and harvests, the prayers that are sent upward for healing and peace, and the welcoming of children into our families, are all reasons for us to keep moving forward with optimism.
I don't think nations can stand aside for ethnic cleansing and genocide.
I started calling anti-child labor organizations, asking how I could help. They told me a kid couldn't make any difference, so I decided to start a movement for young people to fight child labor, and to prove them wrong.
It was rough being dark. I got heat from my own people more than anyone else. I remember going to my mom and saying, 'Why am I so black?' And she said, 'Because I'm black. You just gotta always work harder than the average bear.'
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.
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