You know, if people are not pacifists, it's not their fault. It's because society puts them in that spot. You've got to change it. You don't just change a man - you've got to change his environment as you do it.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that individuals are shaped by their environment, and to change people, we must first change society.
Cesar Chavez highlights the importance of understanding that individuals often reflect the circumstances imposed by their surroundings. Instead of blaming people for their beliefs or actions, he urges us to examine and transform the societal conditions that lead them to adopt such behaviors. True change requires not just altering individuals, but also the environments that influence their choices, fostering a more compassionate society for all.
In practice
In a speech aimed at social reform, one might say, 'As Cesar Chavez eloquently stated, we must first change the environment to truly uplift individuals.'
I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry and unhappy like we do. I feel very deeply about vegetarianism and the animal kingdom. It was my dog Boycott who led me to question the right of humans to eat other sentient beings.
I think one of the great, great problems...is confusing people to the point where they become immobile. In fact, the more things people can find out for themselves, the more vigor the organization is going to have.
In the final analysis it doesn't really matter what the political system is...We don't need perfect political systems; we need perfect participation.
There is enough love and good will in our movement to give energy to our struggle and still have plenty left over to break down and change the climate of hate and fear around us.
Our union represents a breaking away...represents sharing a power, represent questioning, represents a new force...however long it takes, we are geared for a struggle.
Every time we sit at a table at night or in the morning to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations.
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.
Freedom is not a gift of heaven, you have to fight for it every day
I grew up with a deep belief that wherever our troops fought, they were on the side of the angels.
I should not proceed by land to the East, as is customary, but by a Westerly route, in which direction we have hitherto no certain evidence that any one has gone.
The conscientious objector is a revoultionary. On deciding to disobey the law he sacrifices his personal interests to the most important cause of working for the betterment of society.
The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.
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