Sovereignty is not given, it is taken.
Interpretation
Sovereignty must be actively claimed rather than passively received.
This quote by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk emphasizes that true sovereignty and power are not simply handed over to individuals or nations; instead, they must be seized through effort and determination. It reflects the idea that pursuing one's autonomy and rights requires action, courage, and a willingness to challenge existing structures.
In practice
In a speech about empowerment and rights, one might use this quote to inspire a sense of agency among individuals.
Would not obeying to my mother's warnings, who is at least 25 years older than me, be returning to the past? And rebelling against her would mean ruining my mother's, who, I am convinced that, is a virtuous high woman, heart and evaluations. I do not find this right, either.
I have no religion, and at times I wish all religions at the bottom of the sea. He is a weak ruler who needs religion to uphold his government; it is as if he would catch his people in a trap. My people are going to learn the principles of democracy, the dictates of truth and the teachings of science. Superstition must go. Let them worship as they will; every man can follow his own conscience, provided it does not interfere with sane reason or bid him against the liberty of his fellow-men.
God is my witness that up to now, my only aspiration in life is to be a useful element within the army! I have for long been convinced that, to safeguard the country and give happiness to the people, it is necessary first of all to prove once more to the world that our army is still the old Turkish army.
The necessary thing for anyone to be happy and contented as long as he lives is working for the ones who will come after him rather than working for himself... One can reach the true delight and happiness in the life only by working for the existence, honor, and happiness of the future generations.
On the meeting point of two worlds, the ornament of Turkish homeland, the treasure of Turkish history, the city cherished by the Turkish nation, Δ°stanbul, has its place in the hearts of all citizens.
A nation which makes the final sacrifice for life and freedom does not get beaten.
It wasn't until I got to Cambridge that I discovered active discrimination against women.
Maybe there's a whole other universe where a square moon rises in the sky, and the stars laugh in cold voices, and some of the triangles have four sides, and some have five, and some have five raised to the fifth power of sides. In this universe there might grow roses which sing. Everything leads to everything.
Hatred is an affair of the heart; contempt that of the head.
I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.
How Americans restore trust may be an existential question for their country, then, but it's ultimately a practical one: What U.S. society needs to answer it in the coming years aren't lamentations but practical measures, especially among the emerging generations that will define America's future.
The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God.
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