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.
To crave and to have are as like as a thing and its shadow. For when does a berry break upon the tongue as sweetly as when one longs to taste it, and when is the taste refracted into so many hues and savors of ripeness and earth, and when do our senses know any thing so utterly as when we lack it? And here again is a foreshadowing - the world will be made whole. For to wish for a hand on one's hair is all but to feel it. So whatever we may lose, very craving gives it back to us again.
Never let life's hardships disturb you. No one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages.
I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
Repressed anger becomes a temporary madness. Something happens which is beyond your control. If you could have controlled, you would have controlled it still -- but suddenly it was overflowing. Suddenly it was beyond you. You couldn't do anything, you felt helpless -- and it came out. Such a person may not be angry, but he moves and lives in anger.
Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are.
Gratitude is one of the most effective ways of getting in touch with your soul.
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