I travel all over the country making speeches for people I

The words of Ann Richards, a voice of conviction and courage, ring with clarity and fire: “I travel all over the country making speeches for people I believe in.” In these words, there is more than the description of a political life—there is the spirit of service, of standing with others, and of giving one’s own strength to amplify the cause of justice. To travel and to speak are not acts of vanity, but acts of devotion, for she did not move from city to city for her own glory, but to lend her voice to those who sought to build a better world.

The ancients always honored the power of the spoken word. In the days before books and printing presses, speeches were the lifeblood of nations. Orators like Pericles in Athens or Cicero in Rome stirred the hearts of citizens and gave direction to empires. Words, when spoken with truth and passion, could unite armies, topple tyrants, and breathe life into the dreams of the people. Richards, in her own time, walked in this same lineage: one who recognized that speech is not merely sound, but fire carried on the breath, capable of igniting the will of the people.

Yet she adds the most essential part: she spoke for people she believed in. For words without belief are empty; they may dazzle the ear, but they do not move the heart. When a speaker truly believes, the soul itself is poured into the voice, and the audience feels not only the rhythm of language but the weight of conviction. This is why her speeches carried power—they were not performed, they were lived. She stood not as an actor upon a stage, but as a comrade standing beside those she championed.

Consider the story of Demosthenes, the Athenian orator who stood against the rising power of Philip of Macedon. His words alone could not halt the conquest of Greece, yet they preserved the spirit of resistance, teaching his people to value liberty above submission. He spoke because he believed, and though armies may fall, the fire of belief outlasts them. Richards, too, understood that even when one cannot guarantee victory, one can give voice to hope, courage, and truth.

The meaning of the quote is therefore twofold: that speech is an act of action, not passivity, and that belief is the soul of all true influence. To travel across the land, to stand before strangers, to lend one’s strength again and again is a labor of sacrifice, not ease. It is a reminder that our words are not given to us for silence, but for service. Each of us, in our own way, is called to speak—not always in great halls or before great crowds, but in daily life, in defense of those who cannot speak for themselves, in encouragement of those who doubt their worth.

The lesson for us is clear: use your voice with courage, and use it for those you believe in. Do not waste words on flattery or fear. Do not let your silence serve injustice. Instead, travel—whether across the land or simply across the room—and stand beside the causes and people who carry truth in their hearts. Your words, spoken with conviction, may give them the strength they need to continue.

Thus, let this teaching be handed down: words are not idle things, but living forces. To travel and to speak is to give of oneself, to bind one’s destiny with the destiny of others. Let each of us, like Ann Richards, be willing to lend our breath, our time, and our strength for those we believe in. For though the body grows weary, the voice, once lifted in truth, echoes long after the speaker is gone.