People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
When the Nobel Committee chose to honor me, the road I had chosen of my own free will became a less lonely path to follow.
Interpretation
Recognition can transform a personal journey into a shared experience, providing support and validation.
In this quote, Aung San Suu Kyi reflects on how receiving the Nobel Prize not only recognized her struggles but also connected her path with others who supported her cause. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledgment in making a solitary journey feel less isolating, as it demonstrates that one's efforts are appreciated and shared by a greater community.
In practice
In a speech celebrating human rights, one might use this quote to highlight the power of recognition.
People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
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.
I never question God. Sometimes I say, 'Why me? Why do I have such a hard life? Why do I have this disease? Why do I have siblings who died?' But then I think and say, 'Why not me?'
These are the times that try men's souls.
It wasn't that the X-1 would kill you, it was the systems in the X-1 that would kill you.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
I have always believed that resistance against repression and violence is possible without relying on similar repression and violence. I have always believed that human civilization is the fruit of the effort of both women and men.
The civil rights movement was based on faith. Many of us who were participants in this movement saw our involvement as an extension of our faith. We saw ourselves doing the work of the Almighty. Segregation and racial discrimination were not in keeping with our faith, so we had to do something.
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