Human Rights
Page 11
- Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] had many other goals - many other more transcendent, non-racial, policy goals. Goals that apply to white people too. Like ending poverty, reducing the war aspects of our foreign policy, promoting the New Deal goal of universal employment, and so on. But his main accomplishment was ending 200
years of racial terrorism by getting black people to confront their fears... That is what Dr. King did. Not march, not give good speeches. He crisscrossed the south organizing people, helping them not be afraid, and encouraging them - like Gandhi did in India - to take the beating that they had been trying to avoid all their lives. Once the beating was over, we were free. - Three years ago, I did not imagine my arm would move again. For so many days, it did not. I did exercise after exercise, day after day, until it did. I’m committed to my rehab and I’m committed to my country. And my resolution, standing with the vast majority of Americans who know we can and must be safer, is to cede no ground to those who would convince us the path is too steep, or we too weak.
- I think I’m speaking for a bunch of girls when I say that the idea that feminism is completely natural and shouldn’t even be something that people find mildly surprising. It’s just a part of being a girl in 2013.
- Adults who enter into public life implicitly consent to having less privacy, but their families - especially their children - should not be treated callously or thoughtlessly.
- We will not recognize any results that come out of the Geneva 2 Conference, nor will the children or women of Syria do. Those taking part in the conference do not represent the people who sacrificed and shed blood. Besides, who has authorized them to represent the people? Those are confined to newsrooms. In reality, they have no presence on the ground.
- The fact is, we’re not collecting everybody’s email, we’re not collecting everybody’s phone things, we’re not listening to that…NSA can only target the communications of a US person with a probable cause finding under specific court order. Today, we have less than 60 authorizations on specific persons to do that.
- Politics is noble; it is one of the highest forms of charity, as Paul VI used to say. We sully it when we mix it with business. The relationship between the Church and political power can also be corrupted if common good is not the only converging point.
- People will often say, 'Why are you talking about feminism? Why aren't you talking about human rights?' And yes, but we're talking about [women] because there is a group of people in the world who fought for centuries, who have been systematically deprived of rights because they were women. So that's why we talk about women. That's why it has to be about women. Because those are the people whose rights have been taken away. And we can't somehow pretend, 'Oh, let's talk about the human race,' and make things all wishy washy. No, it's women. It has to be women. It has to be feminism. And you have to become one.
- I grew up with the Red Letter Bible, the Bible that highlighted the words of Jesus. And I've thought about that a lot, too. This is the Jesus who said, "Love your enemies," "Do good to those who hate you," "Bless those who curse you," "Pray for those who treat you badly." He
also said, "Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humbled, but everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important." He said, "Whoever wants to be your leader, must be your servant." And Jesus said, "It's the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy, for I did not come to invite good people, but to invite sinners." You know, those words used to be easier to live by before I came to congress, where fighting for leadership and soundbites and making the evening news is common practice around
here. - I thought since I'm a knight - I'm a literal knight of the kingdom of Norway - I would get on my horse and charge forth in her defense.
- The mayor of Sochi is now saying that there are no gay people in Sochi. So the only thing that is flaming over there now is the Olympic torch.
- I’m so sick and tired of all this violence, this gun violence. And how could I speak on it - you know - being one who has advocated violence and gun violence? The only way I could do it was through a song that spoke from the heart.