It is not possible to conceive a democratic Guatemala, free and independent, without the indigenous identity shaping its character into all aspects of national existence.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of indigenous identity in creating a truly democratic Guatemala.
Rigoberta Menchú's quote highlights the crucial role that indigenous identity plays in the formation of a democratic society in Guatemala. It suggests that for a nation to be genuinely free and independent, its cultural roots and diversity must be integral to its national identity and governance, influencing all areas of social and political life.
In practice
Discussing the importance of cultural identity in a speech on national unity.
I think that nonviolence is one way of saying that there are other ways to solve problems, not only through weapons and war. Nonviolence also means the recognition that the person on one side of the trench and the person on the other side of the trench are both human beings, with the same faculties. At some point they have to begin to understand one another.
I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for evading the responsibility of finding the most suitable path toward the elimination of any expression of discrimination against indigenous peoples.
Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples.
We are afraid of losing what we have.
Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns--or dollars. Take your choice--there is no other.
Pioneering spirit should continue, not to conquer the planet or space ... but rather to improve the quality of life.
And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.
A government or a party gets the people it deserves and sooner or later a people gets the government it deserves.
The greatest of all crosses is self. If we die in part every day, we shall have but little to do on the last. These little daily deaths will destroy the power of the final dying.
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