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.
The glory of justice and the majesty of law are created not just by the Constitution - nor by the courts - nor by the officers of the law - nor by the lawyers - but by the men and women who constitute our society - who are the protectors of the law as they are themselves protected by the law.
Courts are too distant from the communities they put on trial.
Promoting active liberty does not mean allowing the majority to run roughshod over minorities. It calls for taking special care that all groups have a chance to fully participate in society and the political process.
Are whisper networks good? That question itself is a little flat. Whisper networks arise in a vacuum of justice. They alleviate an untenable condition; they do not actually address it.
The great can protect themselves, but the poor and humble require the arm and shield of the law.
You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, "you are free to compete with all the others," and still justly believe that you have been completely fair. We seek not just legal equity but human ability, not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as a fact and equality as a result.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.