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 don't want to be president, but I want to be free to decide whether or not I want to be president of this country.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire for personal freedom in decision-making, rather than the title of a position.
Aung San Suu Kyi's quote highlights the importance of individual freedom, particularly the freedom to make choices for oneself. It reflects a deep understanding that true autonomy lies not in holding power itself, but in having the liberty to decide one's own path, including whether to pursue leadership roles. This sentiment resonates with the struggle for democracy and personal agency against oppressive forces.
In practice
This quote would be perfect for a speech on the importance of personal liberty in democracy.
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.
It is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom's price.
Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.
We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way. The third is freedom from want. The fourth is freedom from fear.
Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs production [protection].
Independence means we enjoy freedom. We are not colonised by people. And we can govern our own country and develop it independently so that our people can live a better life.
Nothing's riding on this, except the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys f-k up again, I'm gonna get mad.
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