“Virtue can only flourish among equals.”
Equality sounds simple until you try to define it. These quotes wrestle with justice, fairness, civil rights, and the gap between how things are and how they should be. They come from activists, leaders, philosophers, and people who refused to accept the status quo.
“His lordship may compel us to be equal upstairs, but there will never be equality in the servants hall.”
“Virtue can only flourish among equals.”
“Effective use of Braille is as important to the blind as independent mobility, knowledge in the use of adaptive technology, and the core belief that equality, opportunity and security are truly possible for all people who are blind.”
“Political Freedom without economic equality is a pretense, a fraud, a lie and the workers want no lying.”
“OK, in all seriousness, I would say I couldn't be in a relationship without equality, generosity, integrity, spirit, kindness and humor. And awesomeness.”
“In the end no segregationist scheme has withstood the force of a simple idea: equality under law.”
“The word 'equality' shows up too much in our founding documents for anyone to pretend it's not the American way.”
“Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.”
“The cry of equality pulls everyone down.”
“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”
“Indians today are governed by two different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the preamble of the Constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them.”
“We are all different. Yet we are all God's children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause of freedom, justice, fairness, and equality. That is what unites us.”
“How are men to be secured in any rights without instruction how to be secured in the equal exercise of those rights without equality of instruction? By instruction understand me to mean knowledge - just knowledge not talent, not genius, not inventive mental powers.”
“I am fiscally prudent and socially progressive. I believe in protecting a woman's right to choose. I believe in marriage equality.”
“The mandate I have received and for which I will speak with heart and head to implement over the next seven years had its four pillars - an inclusive citizenship, equality and participation and respect in a creative society creating an excellence in everything we Irish do.”
“Our goals for this nation must be nothing less than to double the size of our economy and bring prosperity and jobs, ownership and equality of opportunity to all Americans, especially those living in our nation's pockets of poverty.”