We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.
CESAR CHAVEZThrough Gandhi and my own life experience, I have learned about nonviolence. I believe that human life is a very special gift from God, and that no one has a right to take that away in any cause, however just. I am convinced that nonviolence is more powerful than violence.
More Cesar Chavez Quotes
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We must understand that the highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline.
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Talk is cheap. It is the way we organize and use our lives everyday that tells what we believe in.
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Being of service is not enough. You must become a servant of the people. When you do, you can demand their commitment in return.
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When a man or woman, young, or old, takes a place on the picket line for even a day or two, he will never be the same again.
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Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other.
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When you have people together who believe in something very strongly – whether it’s religion or politics or unions – things happen.
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In the final analysis it doesn’t really matter what the political system is. We don’t need perfect political systems; we need perfect participation.
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If we are full of hatred, we can’t really do our work. Hatred saps all that strength and energy we need to plan.
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We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
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History will judge societies and governments – and their institutions – not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor and the helpless.
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The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating.
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You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.
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I’m not going to ask for anything unless the workers want it. If they want it, they’ll ask for it.
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Concentration is inspiration. You must be completely overtaken by your work and your subject. Only then do all your influences and experience come up to the surface.
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You know, if people are not pacifists, it’s not their fault. It’s because society puts them in that spot. You’ve got to change it. You don’t just change a man – you’ve got to change his environment as you do it.
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The people united will never be defeated.
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The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature.
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When you sacrifice, you force others to sacrifice. It’s an extremely powerful weapon.
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It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.
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In 1968, I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry, and unhappy like we do.
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Our very lives are dependent, for sustenance, on the sweat and sacrifice of the campesinos. Children of farm workers should be as proud of their parents’ professions as other children are of theirs.
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I’ve always maintained that it isn’t the form that’s going to make the difference. It isn’t the rule or the procedure or the ideology, but it’s human beings that will make it.
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From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength.
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Self dedication is a spiritual experience.
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We’ll organize workers in this movement as long as we’re willing to sacrifice. The moment we stop sacrificing, we stop organizing.
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The non-violent technique does not depend for its success on the goodwill of the oppressor, but rather on the unfailing assistance of God.
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