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
Why are guns the only unregulated consumer products in America? We regulate toy guns and teddy bears, but we do not regulate a product that kills 4,600 children a year.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the paradox of how certain dangerous products, like guns, remain largely unregulated while even benign items face scrutiny.
Marian Wright Edelman's quote sheds light on the inconsistency in regulatory practices surrounding consumer products in America, particularly the tragedy of gun violence affecting children. It emphasizes the urgent need for society to address the regulatory disparity, questioning why firearms, responsible for significant child fatalities, are not treated with the same level of scrutiny as seemingly harmless items like toy guns or teddy bears.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about gun control legislation.
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.
Far 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is nothing wrong with changing a plan when the situation has changed.
Things do change. The only question is that since things are deteriorating so quickly, will society and man's habits change quickly enough?
Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world.
Good pain is pain in the service of a purpose. Bad pain is pain endured because we are resisting a needed growth step.
If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value conscious consumers, a whole new world of opportunity will open up.
Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.
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