People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
It could achieve a lot if everyone in Burma could stop saying something is good if it is not good, or say something is just if it is not just.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of honesty and integrity in judgments and opinions.
Aung San Suu Kyi's quote highlights the vital role that truthfulness plays in society. She advocates for the necessity of speaking out against falsehoods and injustices, suggesting that the collective courage to voice the reality of situations—whether positive or negative—can lead to significant societal progress. By encouraging individuals in Burma to stop endorsing what is not genuinely good or just, she calls for a more honest and morally sound community that can foster genuine improvement and trust.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social change, it would be impactful to emphasize the importance of honesty as highlighted by Aung San Suu Kyi.
More from Aung San Suu Kyi
All quotes →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.
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There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.
The most important thing for me is that I've used my talents as a writer to enable the Ogoni people to confront their tormentors. I was not able to do it as a politician or a businessman. My writing did it. And it sure makes me feel good! I'm mentally prepared for the worst, but hopeful for the best. I think I have the moral victory.
My dear Excellency! I have not gone to war to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.
Now as before, women must refuse to be meek and guileful, for truth cannot be served by dissimulation. Women who fancy that they manipulate the world by pussy power and gentle cajolery are fools. It is slavery to have to adopt such tactics.
I ran away from home. I ran away from St. Louis, and then I ran away from the United States of America, because of that terror of discrimination, that horrible beast which paralyzes one's very soul and body.
... resistance to tyranny is man's highest ideal.