Dignity

829 – Grover Cleveland on Labor and Business

“A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil. Contented labor is an element of national prosperity. Ability to work constitutes the capital and the wage of labor the income of a vast number of our population, and this interest should be jealously protected. Our workingmen are not asking unreasonable indulgence, but as intelligent and manly citizens they seek the same consideration which those demand who have other interests at stake. They should receive their full share of the care and attention of those who make and execute the laws, to the end that the wants and needs of the employers and the employed shall alike be subserved and the prosperity of the country, the common heritage of both, be advanced.”

–Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States of America

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743 – “I rely confidently on the patriotism of the people, on the dignity and self-respect of the States, on the wisdom of Congress, and, above all, on the continued gracious favor of Almighty God to maintain against all enemies, whether at home or abroad, the sanctity of the Constitution and the integrity of the Union.”

–Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States of America

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742 – Eleanor Roosevelt on Universal Human Rights

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works.

Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.”

–Eleanor Roosevelt

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697 – “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

–Drafting Committee for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Draft Committee Members:
Eleanor Roosevelt (Chair), USA; Peng Chun Chang, Republic of China; Charles Habib Malik, Lebanon; William Roy Hodgson, Australia; Hernán Santa Cruz, Chile; René Cassin, France; Alexander E. Bogomolov, Soviet Union; Charles Dukes, UK; John Peters Humphrey, Canada
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468 – “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”

–Nelson Mandela

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406 – “Here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity. Their right to be educated.”

“I raise up my voice not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be
heard.”

–Malala Yousafzai [See Source Notes for reason there are two quotes]

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310 – “And, precisely because it is our flag that is involved, one’s response to the flag-burner may exploit the uniquely persuasive power of the flag itself. We can imagine no more appropriate response to burning a flag than waving one’s own, no better way to counter a flag burner’s message than by saluting the flag that burns, no surer means of preserving the dignity even of the flag that burned than by — as one witness here did — according its remains a respectful burial. We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.”

–William J Brennan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
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226 – “Once social change begins it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person that has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

–César Chávez
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