If people have to put labels on me, I'd prefer the first label to be human being, the second label to be pacifist, and the third to be folk singer.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of identity beyond societal labels, focusing on fundamental humanity.
Joan Baez expresses a desire for her identity to be rooted in her humanity rather than any superficial labels society might place on her. By prioritizing her identity as a 'human being', she highlights the universal qualities that unite all people, while the secondary labels of 'pacifist' and 'folk singer' reflect her values and passions, promoting peace and art.
In practice
In a speech about self-identity, this quote can emphasize the significance of how we define ourselves.
I would say that I'm a nonviolent soldier. In place of weapons of violence, you have to use your mind, your heart, your sense of humor, every faculty available to you...because no one has the right to take the life of another human being.
The easiest kind of relationship for me is with ten thousand people. The hardest is with one.
The hardest song to write is a protest song, a topical song with meaning.
That's all nonviolence is - organized love.
To sing is to love and affirm, _x000D_ to fly and to soar, _x000D_ to coast into the hearts of the people _x000D_ who listen _x000D_ to tell them that life is to live, _x000D_ that love is there, _x000D_ that nothing is a promise, _x000D_ but that beauty exists, _x000D_ and must be hunted for and found.
The foundation of my beliefs is the same as it was when I was 10. Non-violence.
Whether the flower looks better in the nosegay than in the meadow where it grew and we had to wet our feet to get it! Is the scholastic air any advantage?
How we experience memory sometimes, it's not linear. We're not telling the stories to ourselves. We know the story; we're just seeing it in flashes overlaid.
I would not question the sincerity of vegetarians who take little interest in Animal Liberation because they give priority to other causes; but when nonvegetarians say that "human problems come first" I cannot help wondering what exactly it is that they are doing for human beings that compels them to continue to support the wasteful, ruthless exploitation of farm animals.
Wealth is a tool of freedom, but the pursuit of wealth is the way to slavery.
For if I try to seize this self of which I feel sure, if I try to define and to summarize it, it is nothing but water slipping through my fingers.
Be one of the crowd? It went against everything a wizard stood for, and a wizard would not stand for anything if he could sit down for it, but even sitting down, you had to stand out.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.