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We [must] realize that our future lies chiefly in our own hands.
Paul Robeson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Our future is primarily determined by our own actions and decisions.

This quote emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and agency in shaping our future. It suggests that while external factors may influence our circumstances, it is ultimately our choices and efforts that define the path we take in life.

Themes

FutureResponsibilityChoiceAgencySelf-Determination

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about personal development, you could say, 'As Paul Robeson wisely noted, our future lies in our own hands.'

More from Paul Robeson

I've learned that my people are not the only ones oppressed... I have sung my songs all over the world and everywhere found that some common bond makes the people of all lands take to Negro songs as their own.
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We ask for nothing that is not ours by right, and herein lies the great moral power of our demand.
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My mother was born in your state, Mr. Walter, and my mother was a Quaker, and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware, and my own father was a slave.
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The intolerance of the few, or the risk of it, carries the day against the wider humanity of the many.
Paul RobesonRead
I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom
Paul RobesonRead
And at home in the United States we found continued and increased persecution, first of leaders of the Communist Party, and then of all honest anti-fascists.
Paul RobesonRead

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A little wisdom, now and then

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