It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in that Declaration of Independence.

I favor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary.

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed… Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.

He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized.

We humans for millions of years were nomadic. We associated freedom and well-being with the ability to move into open spaces, to find places more suited to hunting.

Fearlessness is not only possible, it is the ultimate joy. When you touch nonfear, you are free.

Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none.

There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.

After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one’s person.

True liberal government is founded on the emancipation of men.

We have not yet reached the goal but… we shall soon, with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty shall be banished from this nation.

Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‚within the limits of the law‘ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.

We are all different. There is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.

Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice… No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out.

The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

Mr. T. been to chemo, Mr. T been to radiation, hair fall out… but he’s back. Now I can give hope when I go to the hospital, see the sick kids with cancer, tell them, don’t quit.

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife.

When I don’t feel free and can’t do what I want I just react. I go against it.

There is no hope unmingled with fear, and no fear unmingled with hope.

We can be thankful to a friend for a few acres, or a little money; and yet for the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, we look upon ourselves as under no obligation.

If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.

No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from.

Marriage is the death of hope.

Coming generations will learn equality from poverty, and love from woes.

The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity – or it will move apart.

Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it’s an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter what situation we’re facing.

You know, one race will not be a survivor if the other one dies, and that’s something that we should think about.

More law, less justice.

We are proud of the history of our country; we learned it in school and have grown up hearing of freedom, justice and human rights.

We know what works. Freedom Works. We know what’s right. Freedom is right.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.

Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilization.

Freedom is the right to live as we wish.

I separated from the Southern Baptists when they adopted the discriminatory attitude towards women, because I believe what Paul taught in Galatians that there is no distinction in God’s eyes between men and women, slaves and masters, Jews and non-Jews – everybody is created equally in the eyes of God.

I find myself hoping a total end of all the unhappy divisions of mankind by party-spirit, which at best is but the madness of many for the gain of a few.

I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.

I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m really confused now.

I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God’s creation, woman, the object of our lust.

My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.

It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.

People tell me that they are so hopeful when they see me and other children ‚school-striking,‘ and they say, ‚Oh the children are going to save us.‘ But no, we aren’t. We are too young to be able to do that. We don’t have time to wait for us to grow up and fix this in the future.

Despotism can only exist in darkness, and there are too many lights now in the political firmament to permit it to remain anywhere, as it has heretofore done, almost everywhere.

The mind is never satisfied with the objects immediately before it, but is always breaking away from the present moment, and losing itself in schemes of future felicity… The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.

I wish I could say to all those people who consider themselves anarchists or radicals: Please join the nonviolent movement. This is how Gandhi freed India. If Gandhi freed India, we can certainly free the United States from our racism, misogyny, and bigotry.

You can’t put democracy and freedom back into a box.

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.

I don’t even call them fans. I don’t like that. They’re literally just a part of my life; they’re a part of my family. I don’t think of them as on a lower level than me. I don’t think I’m anything but equal to all of them. So yeah, they’re basically all of my siblings.

I always had a knack for improvisation. I can write down the notes I play, but never really had a proper academic musical background. I suppose I’m blessed and cursed by the fact I have that freedom.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest.

Partnering with Atlantic Records creates the opportunity to take what we’re doing to the next level, without compromising.

We don’t want two-tier people in America. Those who are legal but not citizens, and citizens.

Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.

Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.

I believe that God breathed life into every person and that every person is made in the image of God and you have accept them as they are, on their journey. I’m not here to preach hate or push people down.

If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.

Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice can never be attained.

I always try to put a seed of hope into people’s hearts. I’m not there to teach them doctrine necessarily, but to let them know that God is a good God, and has a plan for their lives. Hopefully, that will restore their faith, or draw them into faith.