Remember and help America remember that the fellowship of human beings is more important than the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
What's wrong with our children? Adults telling children to be honest while lying and cheating. Adults telling children to not be violent while marketing and glorifying violence... I believe that adult hypocrisy is the biggest problem children face in America.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the hypocrisy of adults who preach values yet fail to uphold them, affecting children's moral development.
Marian Wright Edelman critiques the inconsistency between what adults tell children and their own behaviors. She argues that the conflicting messages about honesty and violence contribute to significant challenges for children, emphasizing that adult hypocrisy undermines the lessons they aim to impart. This disconnect can lead to confusion and frustration in children, who observe adults behaving contrary to the values they advocate.
Themes
HypocrisyChildrenAdultsHonestyViolenceMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech discussing the importance of role models for youth.
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Dr. King used to say, 'I was sitting in the back of the bus, but my mind was always up front.' Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it. You aim high and you work very hard and now I think it's clear that you can be anything you want to.
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The outside world told black kids when I was growing up that we weren't worth anything. But our parents said it wasn't so, and our churches and our schoolteachers said it wasn't so. They believed in us, and we, therefore, believed in ourselves.
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I was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living - the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.
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We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who will keep seeding and building transforming movements.
Marian Wright EdelmanRead
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