The March on Washington was a March for Jobs and Freedom. There are still too many people who are unemployed or underemployed in America - they're black, white, Latino, Native American and Asian American.
John LewisRead
Customs, traditions, laws should be flexible, within good reason, if that is what it takes to make our democracy work.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Customs and laws should adapt to serve democracy effectively.
John Lewis emphasizes the importance of flexibility in customs, traditions, and laws to uphold the principles of democracy. When these structures are rigid, they can hinder the democratic process; thus, adapting them within reasonable limits is crucial for a functioning society.
Themes
DemocracyLawsTraditionFlexibilityChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about legislative reform, one can use this quote to advocate for adjusting outdated laws.
More from John Lewis
All quotes βThe scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.
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I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it. As individuals, we may not live to see the end.'
John LewisRead
We need someone who is going to stand up, speak up, and speak out for the people who need help, for the people who have been discriminated against.
John LewisRead
If it hadn't been for that march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, there would be no Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.
John LewisRead
Sometimes I hear people saying, 'Nothing has changed.' Come and walk in my shoes.
John LewisRead
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For Conservatives, all disputes over law, liberty and justice are addressed to a historic and existing community. The root of politics, they believe, is attachment - the motive in human beings that binds them to the place, the customs, the history and the people who are theirs.
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But if the laws are to be so trampled upon with impunity, and a minority is to dictate to the majority, there is an end put at one stroke to republican government, and nothing but anarchy and confusion is to be expected thereafter.
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If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it.
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