Emily Saliers Quotes

... equal responsibilities are less popular than equal rights.

Equal opportunity for all, special privilege for none.

I have a 10 year old at home, and she is always saying, 'That's not fair.' When she says that, I say, "Honey, you're cute; that's not fair. Your family is pretty well off; that's not fair. You were born in America; that's not fair. Honey, you had better pray to God that things don't start getting fair for you.

Everyone is born equally capable but lacks equal opportunity.

We can't accept that it's O.K. if only some kids get to go to college.

We get these lives for free. I didn't do anything to get this life, and no matter what the hardships are, it is free and, in a way, it's an extraordinary bargain.

It's not a meritocracy until everyone starts with the same opportunities, is it?

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

Most people don't get a fair crack of the whip.

We must display a heart for every American, and a special passion for those still on the first rung of life's ladder.

When you don't come from struggle, gaining appreciation is a quality that's difficult to come by.

I feel a lot of guilt about the freedom that being an artist provides. I ask myself, 'Why am I not the guy emptying the trash, why am I the guy who is watching the guy empty the trash?'

We must restore the emotional relationship that people have to the idea of America, that no matter where you come from, no matter where you live, that you have access to the same opportunities that somebody who is born in privilege.

That's what liberalism is all about, is promoting incompetence on the basis it's fair, because people would be the best if they weren't discriminated against.

I don't think anybody can claim success at any part of our lives, private or professional, if there are others that don't enjoy the same opportunities.

When we got back to the U.S., I wanted to kiss the ground after seeing what people in other countries are denied or don't have.

A lot of people have it a lot worse than you do.

I take my work seriously but I can't take myself too seriously. I'm in such a crazy privileged position.

Together, we can build the kind of world in which we all seek to live, one of universal equality and justice.

Everybody should have a fair deal; everybody should have the chance to life in this world. If we were evolved as human beings, we would hopefully be able to alleviate suffering in the world.

Each one of our ideas should benefit the people with less power than us.

Full stomachs don't believe empty ones.

Equal opportunity does not come from tolerance; it comes from acceptance.

The advantages and privileges which have hitherto enjoyed by the few shall be far more widely shared by the many.

… the great equalizer.