Speech Quote: "It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees"

In my Public Speaking class today, a classmate of mine presented a persuasive speech on the neglect of our freedom of religion. A quote he used during his presentation was, “It’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” I was taken by this quote because it encourages me to stand up for what I believe in. Instead of being timid or afraid to voice my opinion, I should stand firm on my beliefs. I’ve never been afraid to speak for myself or anything of that sort, but instead of being confident enough to say what’s right or how things should be, I’ve remained quite and kept my thoughts to myself.

In the latter half of the quote, it talks about life on your knees. The term living on your knees, means to be submissive and to not have a backbone. All these phrases and terms are euphemisms for a person who is weak minded or fearful of expressing the truth. Instead of being fearful, we should stand up for our beliefs rather than be passive and let the wrong thing continue to go on. Living on your knees will only allow what is right to be submerged and suppressed. The world would be much safer and happier if the truth or what is right wasn’t kept hidden. Instead of living on our knees, we should stand up for what is right and our beliefs in order to end the submerging of what is right or correct.