You can't educate a child who isn't healthy, and you can't keep a child healthy who isn't educated.
Joycelyn EldersRead
As long as I was in Washington I never met anybody that I thought was good enough, who knew enough, or who loved enough to make sexual decisions for anybody else.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the lack of trust in others' ability to make personal decisions, particularly regarding sexuality.
In this quote, Joycelyn Elders expresses her skepticism about the competence and moral integrity of others, especially in positions of power, to make sexual decisions for individuals. It suggests that personal matters, particularly those relating to sexuality, should be left to individuals themselves rather than being determined by lawmakers or authority figures who may not understand or empathize with the complexities of personal choice.
Themes
SexualityDecisionsIndividualityTrustAuthority
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for personal freedoms and rights over one's own body.
More from Joycelyn Elders
All quotes →I want every child that's born in the world to be planned and wanted.
Joycelyn EldersRead
Doctor, I have more education than most white people.
Joycelyn EldersRead
It is often easier for our children to obtain a gun than it is to find a good school.
Joycelyn EldersRead
We've tried ignorance for a thousand years. It's time we try education.
Joycelyn EldersRead
You can't be what you don't see. I didn't think about being a doctor. I didn't even think about being a clerk in a store, I'd never seen a black clerk in a clothing store.
Joycelyn EldersRead
Similar quotes
We are a society that treats people with disabilities with condescension and pity, not dignity and respect.
Stella YoungRead
Twenty-five, 30 years ago, the barometer of human rights in the United States were black people. That is no longer true. The barometer for judging the character of people in regard to human rights is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, lesbian.
Bayard RustinRead
You can't measure the mutual affection of two human beings by the number of words they exchange.
Milan KunderaRead
Appreciation - Learn to give flowers while people are still living
Joel OsteenRead
Human relationships are primary in all of living. When the gusty winds blow and shake our lives, if we know that people care about us, we may bend with the wind ... but we won’t break.
Fred RogersRead
The drama and the trauma of the relationship you have when you're 16 can mirror the one you have when you're 26. Life repeats itself.
Taylor SwiftRead