Leah Ward Sears Quotes

I have a prominent platform and I want to use it to promote respect for human rights, democracy, and personal freedom. For me, this is bigger than basketball.

The essence of government lies with unceasing concern for the welfare and dignity and decency and innate integrity of life for every individual.

Anyone who classifies his grievances under the label of ‘human rights’ violations, those grievances can then be brought into the United Nations and be discussed by people all over the world. For as long as you call it ‘civil rights,’ your only allies can be the people in the next community, many of whom are responsible for your grievance.

Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life.

The U.S. government must stand on the side of human rights, the rule of law, and democratic progress, not impede or otherwise stunt such progress.

I came from a family who believed in the “Rights of Man,” who believed that in order to justify the sort of luxurious life that the majority of us have, related to the whole world, that you had to do something.

We have a responsibility to give people opportunities to do what they can do. It's a fundamental tenet of democratic society. Libertarians who believe in a completely minimalist state, and don't feel we have that responsibility, are harming humanity.

The principal factors which influenced my life are 1) nonviolent tactics; 2) constitutional means; 3) democratic procedures; 4) respect for human personality; 5) a belief that all people are one.

I've used the prestige and influence of having been a president of the United States as effectively as possible. And secondly, I've still been able to carry out my commitments to peace and human rights and environmental quality and freedom and democracy and so forth.

In this film George presents issues that are important, essential and vital, whoever you are, about constitutional rights and the bedrock of a democracy. I am drawn to those kinds of stories because they inspire me - they are responsible to a populace and responsible to man.

China recognizes and also respects the universality of human rights. We will continue our efforts to promote democracy and the rule of law.

In Psalm 72, Solomon prays for power and fame but he says the purpose of influence is to speak up for others and one is the immigrant. He doesn't delineate between legal and illegal.

America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men.

Winning the presidency, for me, is not worth the price of silence on the issue of human [civil] rights.

Shame! Shame on this House! A civilized society does not stifle opposition. It meets it.

Our duty as a party is not to our party alone, but to the nation and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom..

Conservatives put the law before the man. Progressives put the man before the law.

The lesson of history that all human rights are indivisible and that the failure to adhere to this principle jeopardizes the rights of all.

In the literal sense, there has been no relevant evolution since the trek from Africa. But there has been substantial progress towards higher standards of rights, justice and freedom - along with all too many illustrations of how remote is the goal of a decent society.

We're losing our way as a society. If we don't stand up, if we don't say what we think those rights should be, and if we don't protect them, we will very soon find out that we do not have them.

We need to have a clear moral vision for both our foreign policy, and economic policy and policy on racial justice.

The struggle for equality is really a struggle for democracy, and that's why it's a struggle for all the population.

My grandfather wanted to remind us that freedom of expression is the fundamental ingredient for democracy, and all the rest is detail. It is the scaffolding around which every other freedom is based.

The struggle for freedom and human rights is universal and Canada used to be a leader.

I've always been passionate about human rights in general. I think anyone who knows me can attest to that.