While acting is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive.
Childhood hunger in America is as much a paradox as it is a tragedy. Why, in the wealthiest country in the world, should hunger darken the lives and dreams of 12 million children and their families? I believe that, when Americans learn the facts and understand how their involvement can make a difference, banishing childhood hunger will be a national, local and personal priority.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Childhood hunger in America is a tragic contradiction given the nation's wealth, and awareness can drive change.
This quote highlights the shocking reality of childhood hunger in America, framing it as both a tragedy and a paradox. Despite being the wealthiest nation, millions of children suffer from hunger, raising questions about societal priorities. Martin Sheen emphasizes the importance of awareness and personal involvement in addressing this issue, suggesting that collective action can transform childhood hunger from an overlooked problem into a national and local priority that affects everyone.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a charity event, we can quote Martin Sheen to raise awareness about childhood hunger.
More from Martin Sheen
All quotes →I am still a journeyman actor and a peace and justice activist. I'm a pilgrim trying to win my freedom and serve as best I can in the time I have, with this gift I've been given.
When I reached adulthood, even now, I could afford to belong to a country club. But I could never belong to a private club because of my experience as a child, because it would isolate me from the whole of humanity.
Future generations are not going to ask us what political party were you in. They are going to ask what did you do about it, when you knew the glaciers were melting.
My recovery is the single greatest accomplishment of my life. Without that, the rest of my life would have fallen apart.
I honestly do not know if civil disobedience has any effect on the government. I can promise you it has a great effect on the person who chooses to do it.
Similar quotes
There are huge divorces and divides and chasms in black America between the have-gots and the have-nots, between the monied and the poor, between the educated and the non-educated. And there are huge and growing chasms daily. And I want to say that it's not simply about generation. It's about genre.
Young mothers who apply for housing assistance in our nation's capital literally could be grandmothers by the time their application is reviewed.
Many unhoused people work full time but earn starvation, unlivable wages. Some struggle to access mental health services or substance use treatment, making earning a consistent and stable wage nearly impossible.
Race impacts 90 percent of our society - and I'm probably undershooting that figure. I find this fascinating and like to address it when pertinent.
Black women usually don't get the luxury of faking their way through life and still succeeding, but when a white guy does it, he may even get to be the president of the United States.
When the human race neglects its weaker members, when the family neglects its weakest one - it's the first blow in a suicidal movement. I see the neglect in cities around the country, in poor white children in West Virginia and Virginia and Kentucky - in the big cities, too, for that matter.