I think there’s a mythology that if you want to change the world, you have to be sainted, like Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela or Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ordinary people with lives that go up and down and around in circles can still contribute to change.
Interpretation
Everyone can bring about change, regardless of their status or background.
Jody Williams emphasizes that the idea of needing to be extraordinary or saintly to make a difference in the world is a myth. Instead, it is the ordinary, everyday actions of people, with all their complexities and ups and downs, that can lead to meaningful change, suggesting that contributions to societal progress can come from anyone.
In practice
During a speech at a community event, to inspire local activists to take action.
Landmines distinguish themselves because once they have been sown, once the soldier walks away from the weapon, the landmine cannot tell the difference between a soldier or a civilian - a woman, a child, a grandmother going out to collect firewood to make the family meal.
I believe that worrying about the problems plaguing our planet without taking steps to confront them is absolutely irrelevant. The only thing that changes this world is taking action.
Guns go home with the soldiers, but landmines are designed to kill - mindlessly, out of control, for years.
What I consider to be peace [is] a sustainable peace in which the majority of people on this planet have access to enough resources to live dignified lives.
Part of being a revolutionary is creating a vision that is more humane. That is more fun, too. That is more loving. It's really working to create something beautiful.
The aspect of American society is animated, because men and things are always changing; but it is monotonous, because all the changes are alike.
For the first time in the history of our country the majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years.
You only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else.
It is not for us to forecast the future, but to shape it.
I don't know how to change the world but I know if I keep talking about how dirty it is out here, somebody gon clean it up.
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