I may be arrested, I may be tried and thrown in jail, but I will never be silent. I will never acquiesce or submit to authority, nor will I make peace with a system that degrades women to a mere incubator. I now and here declare war upon this system and will not rest until a path has been cleared for a free motherhood and a healthy, joyous and happy childhood.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Goldman declares unwavering resistance against systems that restrict women's autonomy and reproductive freedom.
- In plain terms
- She will fight against laws treating women as baby makers.
- What can you take from it?
- Personal freedom requires active resistance.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What does it mean to live freely?
- How far should one go to defy authority?
Another view
Absolute refusal to submit may limit negotiation opportunities.
More from Emma Goldman
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
Permalink to quote #58 If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
Permalink to quote #60 Idealists are foolish enough to throw caution to the winds. They have advanced mankind and have enriched the world.
Permalink to quote #57
Related quotes
Every person who ever thought he had a right to assert, and went boldly and asserted it, himself, or jointly with others that shared his convictions, was a dir…
Voltairine de CleyreVoltairine de Cleyre quote #44 [at Rock the Bells, San Bernardino, California, 2007] 'Sixty-eight years ago just after World War II, they claimed they were the greatest generation.. And I'm …
Zack de la RochaZack de la Rocha quote #3 We, the undersigned, gathered in Pilgrimage to the capital of the State in Sacramento in penance for all the failings of Farm Workers as free and sovereign men…
Cesar ChavezCesar Chavez quote #4