If I take a bump or bruise along the way, that's nothing compared to the sacrifices that the women whose shoulders I stand upon made along the way.
Interpretation
One's struggles are insignificant compared to the sacrifices made by those before us.
Valerie Jarrett's quote emphasizes an important perspective on personal struggles in the face of the immense sacrifices made by previous generations, particularly by women who paved the way for future progress. It encourages individuals to acknowledge their challenges while recognizing the greater battles fought by those before them, invoking a sense of gratitude and responsibility to honor their legacy.
In practice
During a speech on International Women's Day, this quote can inspire the audience about the importance of honoring women's sacrifices.
My theory is this: Rather than having commentaries from the cheap seats, get involved and see what you can do. What can you do around your own community, within your own family, to try to improve race relations in our country? I think this is a responsibility that we all have as citizens.
I still vividly remember the moment I let go of an embrace with my daughter on her college campus - that, in her opinion, probably lasted far too long. I left the most precious thing in my life in the care of an institution, and that's a very hard thing to do.
With women composing nearly half the American workforce and increasingly serving as the primary breadwinner for families, we can't afford to treat pregnant women differently than their counterparts, especially when slight job modifications could help them stay in the workforce at no risk to their health.
What makes a lot of sense is that, while people are incarcerated, give them the tools they need to be able to have a productive, lucrative living when they leave so they can provide for their families and break that cycle of recidivism.
We do have to ask ourselves as a culture, what do we want to be? You know, what are our founding values? And if we are a society where everybody should have that fair shot and get a second chance, then we should take the necessary steps to implement that and make it a reality.
The ADA was a landmark civil rights legislation. It was a bill of rights for persons with disabilities, a formal acknowledgement that Americans with disabilities are Americans first and that they're entitled to the same rights and freedoms as everybody else.
Voting is no substitute for the eternal vigilance that every friend of freedom must demonstrate towards government. If our freedom is to survive, Americans must become far better informed of the dangers from Washington -- regardless of who wins the Presidency.
The primary thing I should do, apart from being a good husband, brother, son, and friend, is to be a citizen activist. But I'm afraid it takes away from the writing. Not that anything depends on whether I put an essay in 'The Nation' or not. But you want to participate.
My friend, you had horses, and deed of arms, and the free fields; but she, being born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonoured dotage; and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on. -Gandalf to Eomer, of Eowyn
Well, I have gotten by twenty-seven years, so that is something. I may die, but the Republic of 1916 will never die. Onward to the Republic and liberation of our people.
Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest thing.
When we decided to take up arms, it was because the only other choice was to surrender and to submit to slavery.
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