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
I think when the people in Burma stop thinking about whether or not they're free, it'll mean that they're free.
Interpretation
True freedom comes from a shift in mindset rather than just external circumstances.
Aung San Suu Kyi suggests that the concept of freedom is deeply intertwined with one's thoughts and perceptions. When individuals begin to focus less on the constraints of their situation and more on the potential of their spirit, they will find that freedom exists not just in physical terms but also in their mindset and approach to life. This highlights the power of mental liberation as a precursor to actual freedom in society.
In practice
In a speech about civil rights, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of mindset in the pursuit of freedom.
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 do not approve the extermination of the enemy; the policy of exterminating or, as it is barbarously said, liquidating enemies, is one of the most alarming developments of modern war and peace, from the point of view of those who desire the survival
Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires but according to our powers.
For who would dare to assert that eternal happiness can compensate for a single moment's human suffering
Anyone can be heroic from time to time, but a gentleman is something you have to be all the time.
Has the dark shadow really disappeared? Or is it inside me, concealed, waiting for its chance to reappear? Like a clever thief hidden inside a house, breathing quietly, waiting until everyone’s asleep. I have looked deep inside myself, trying to detect something that might be there. But just as our consciousness is a maze, so too is our body. Everywhere you turn there’s darkness, and a blind spot. Everywhere you find silent hints, everywhere a surprise is waiting for you.
If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.
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