The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
Interpretation
Having the freedom to express opinions doesn't guarantee they will be respected or valued.
This quote by Hubert H. Humphrey emphasizes that while everyone has the right to express their thoughts and opinions, not all of them will be considered valid or deserving of serious attention. It serves as a reminder that communication entails not just speaking freely, but also being mindful of the quality and substance of what is being said, as well as the context in which it is received.
In practice
In a group discussion about policy, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of substance in arguments.
It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
Much of our American progress has been the product of the individual who had an idea; pursued it; fashioned it; tenaciously clung to it against all odds; and then produced it, sold it, and profited from it.
We need an America with the wisdom of experience. But we must not let America grow old in spirit.
You cannot go around and keep score. If you keep score on the good things and the bad things, you'll find out that you're a very miserable person. God gave man the ability to forget, which is one of the greatest attributes you have. Because if you remember everything that's happened to you, you generally remember that which is the most unfortunate.
Here we are the way politics ought to be in America; the politics of happiness, the politics of purpose and the politics of joy.
The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect; in execution, the labors of many.
Be slow of tongue and quick of eye.
Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.
Insight into universal nature provides an intellectual delight and sense of freedom that no blows of fate and no evil can destroy.
Strength instead of being the lusty child of passion, grows by grappling with and subduing them.
A magician is strong because he feels pain. He feels the difference between what the world is and what he would make of it. Or what did you think that stuff in your chest was? A magician is strong because he hurts more than others. His wound is his strength.
Nothing is improved by anger, unless it be the arch of a cat's back. A man with his back up is spoiling his figure. People look none the handsomer for being red in the face. It takes a great deal out of a man to get into a towering rage; it is almost as unhealthy as having a fit. . . . Whatever wrong I suffer, it can not do me half so much hurt as being angry about it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.