If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom. The two are inseparable partners in the great adventure of humanity.
Robert KennedyRead
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
While few people can shape history on a grand scale, everyone can contribute to meaningful change in their own way.
Robert Kennedy's quote emphasizes that history is not only made by a select few but is the cumulative result of many individual actions. Each person's efforts, no matter how small, contribute to the larger narrative of their time, highlighting the importance of personal responsibility and the impact of collective actions on societal change.
Themes
ChangeHistoryActionResponsibilityCollective Effort
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about community service to inspire people to take action.
More from Robert Kennedy
All quotes →Elections remind us not only of the rights but the responsibilities of citizenship in a democracy.
Robert KennedyRead
Within the United States, we have put great emphasis upon political freedoms. Because it has been our experience that these freedoms can lead to others.
Robert KennedyRead
It is one thing to open job opportunities. It is another to train people to fill them, or to persuade American enterprise to seek Negro as well as white applicants.
Robert KennedyRead
Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.
Robert KennedyRead
The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America - except whether we are proud to be Americans.
Robert KennedyRead
Similar quotes
Remember: in order for a perception to change one must be frustrated in one's actions or change one's purpose.
Neil PostmanRead
When one meddles with the direction of a revolution, the problem is not how to make it go but how to keep it under control.
Honore Gabriel Riqueti, Comte De MirabeauRead
It's jarring to live in a world where every person feels his life will only get better when you came from a world where many rightfully believe that things have become worse. And I've suspected that this optimism blinds many in Silicon Valley to the real struggles in other parts of the country. So I decided to move home to Ohio.
J. D. VanceRead
Growth is a painful process._x000D_ If we’re ever going to collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we’re going to have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
Wilma MankillerRead
I've been involved in social activism my entire life, and I would argue that many people involved in social activist movements have done very little work on themselves.
Eve EnslerRead
It's hard to change someone's ideas when they might not even really consciously know that they're being racist, or have racist ideas, just because ballet has been this way for hundreds of years.
Misty CopelandRead