Remember and help America remember that the fellowship of human beings is more important than the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Service is essential to life and should be prioritized over personal leisure activities.
This quote emphasizes that serving others is a fundamental aspect of our existence and purpose. It suggests that engaging in acts of service is not merely an optional activity but a core responsibility that we must embrace to live a meaningful life.
Themes
ServicePurposeLifeMeaningResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote to inspire volunteers at a community service event.
More from Marian Wright Edelman
All quotes βFar less wealthy industrialized countries have committed to end child poverty, while the United States is sliding backwards. We can do better. We must demand that our leaders do better.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
Dr. King used to say, 'I was sitting in the back of the bus, but my mind was always up front.' Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it. You aim high and you work very hard and now I think it's clear that you can be anything you want to.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
The outside world told black kids when I was growing up that we weren't worth anything. But our parents said it wasn't so, and our churches and our schoolteachers said it wasn't so. They believed in us, and we, therefore, believed in ourselves.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
I was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living - the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who will keep seeding and building transforming movements.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
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The human race has improved everything, but the human race.
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Motion is always a relative thing. I move in relation to something else. Any particle in this universe can change in relation to any other particle; but take the whole universe as one, and in relation to what can it move? There is nothing besides it. So this infinite Unit is unchangeable, immovable, absolute, and this is the Real Man.
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