People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
When the Nobel Committee chose to honor me, the road I had chosen of my own free will became a less lonely path to follow.
Interpretation
Recognition can transform a personal journey into a shared experience, providing support and validation.
In this quote, Aung San Suu Kyi reflects on how receiving the Nobel Prize not only recognized her struggles but also connected her path with others who supported her cause. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledgment in making a solitary journey feel less isolating, as it demonstrates that one's efforts are appreciated and shared by a greater community.
In practice
In a speech celebrating human rights, one might use this quote to highlight the power of recognition.
People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.
This was the way I was brought up to think of politics, that politics was to do with ethics, it was to do with responsibility, it was to do with service, so I think I was conditioned to think like that, and I'm too old to change now.
My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.
If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.
Where there is no justice there can be no secure peace.
I've seen many men die right in front of me - so many in fact that I've become almost hardened to it. Having seen the worst that human beings can do to each other, the results of torture, mutilation and seeing someone blown to pieces by a bomb, you develop a kind of shell. But you had to. You had to. Otherwise, we would never have won.
When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country's ultimate symbol of freedom - because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country.
This is not the time to marry. My country is calling me. I have taken a vow to serve the country with my heart and soul.
Any time I saw people treated unfairly because of race, creed, whatever - it struck a nerve.
Who are your favourite heroines in real life? The women of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi as their ideal feminine model.
Behold a contest worthy of a god, a brave man matched in conflict with adversity.
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