I don't have any children, so I've decided to claim all the future freedom-fighters and hell-raisers as my kin.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a deep sense of connection and responsibility to future generations, highlighting the importance of supporting those who fight for justice.
In this quote, Molly Ivins expresses her desire to embrace and support future activists as if they were her own children. By identifying with 'freedom-fighters' and 'hell-raisers', she emphasizes her commitment to social justice and the collective responsibility to nurture and uplift those who challenge the status quo for a better future.
In practice
In a speech about social justice, one can use this quote to emphasize the role of community in supporting activism.
Racists seem obsessed by the idea that illegal workers - the hardest-working, poorest people in America - are somehow getting away with something, sneaking goodies that should be for Americans. You can always avoid this problem by having no social services. This is the refreshing Texas model, and it works a treat.
Populism is the simple premise that markets need to be restrained by society and by a democratic political system. We are not socialists or communists, we are proponents of regulated capitalism and, I might add, people who have read American history.
We should all laugh more at our elected officials - it's good for us and good for them.
Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts.
Imagine wasting all that perfectly good anger on paranoid fantasies. Not since Emily Litella got upset about "Soviet jewelry" has there been such a waste of anger. You will notice a certain theme to these Emily Litella Moments. Behind them all is a touching faith that someone, somewhere is actually in charge of what's happening - a proposition I beg leave to doubt.
All anyone needs to enjoy the state legislature is a strong stomach and a complete insensitivity to the needs of the people. As long as you don't think about what that peculiar body should be doing and what it actually is doing to the quality of life in Texas, then it's all marvelous fun.
I was married to the ANC. It was the best marriage I ever had.
For male and female alike, the bodies of the other sex are messages signaling what we must do - they are glowing signifiers of our own necessities.
It's like everybody's sitting there and they have some kind of veil over their face, and they look at each other through this veil that makes them see each other through some stereotypical kind of viewpoint. If we're ever gonna collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we're gonna have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
Your working assumption, when you meet a homophobe, should be that they are gay.
There are only four kinds of people in the world - those who have been caregivers, those who are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.
Never underestimate the meanness in people's souls... Even when they're being kind... especially when they're being kind.
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