If we support human rights, we cannot ignore legalized brutality against any group of our global community.
Kerry KennedyRead
I understood at a young age that administrations come and go, but laws stay. So I decided to become a lawyer in order to help create a more just and peaceful world, not just in a fleeting moment but in a way that will endure from one generation to the next.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the permanence of laws over changing administrations and the desire to contribute to lasting justice.
Kerry Kennedy reflects on her early understanding that while political administrations may change, the laws established have a lasting impact on society. This realization motivated her to pursue a career in law with the goal of fostering a just and peaceful world, aiming for a legacy that transcends time and influences future generations.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about the importance of law in a democratic society.
If we support human rights, we cannot ignore legalized brutality against any group of our global community.
We owe our children an environment in which they can flourish, and where law enforcement, the justice system, and society as offers them a fresh start, not a jail cell.
In my human-rights work, perhaps the most important thing is gaining the trust of the victims.
My father believed young people are among our nation's most valuable resources, and so we should ensure that every child - including children and youth returning from the justice system - have access to the opportunities we would want for our own children.
For too long, we've allowed ourselves to equate targeted bullying with innocent teasing, or dismissed it as pranks and ignored the torment and long-term impact that an incident like this has on young people.
While the One Child Policy has been effective in drastically reducing Chinese birth rates, the measures adopted in its name have required exhaustive, violent, insidious and systemic violations of human rights.
When you come in to court as a plaintiff or as a defendant, it is terribly important that you look up at the bench and feel that that person represents you and will understand you, that that person is reflective of our community and of our society.
Justice has taken its course and the authority and legitimacy of the legal process must be respected.
After decades of persistent, courageous advocacy - often at risk to their own lives, livelihoods, and safety - African Americans succeeded in securing their right to a voice in our government, and their work laid the foundation for the social justice work of generations to follow.
Lack of lawful access certainly affects our ability to do our jobs, but we know where the harm really falls when evidence is kept unavailable - it falls on innocent people, the people we're sworn to protect.
The moral abhorrence of private prisons has been brought to our attention by courageous acts of investigative journalism, illuminating scholarship, and the work of activists who have decried the social stratification brought about by our prison systems.
Because the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and capricious - and therefore immoral - I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.
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