It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no

Harvey Milk, a voice of courage in a time of silence, spoke words that blaze with eternal fire: “It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions.” These words are not the mutterings of politics, but the thunder of justice itself. For rights are not coins to be bargained, nor gifts to be withheld, but the birthright of every soul that draws breath. Milk, who walked among the oppressed, understood this truth not as theory but as lived struggle. His cry was the cry of countless generations yearning for dignity.

The first truth he proclaims is that rights require no compromise. Too often, rulers and lawmakers have treated human freedom as a matter of negotiation, as though liberty were a privilege to be measured, reduced, or delayed. Yet the essence of a right is that it belongs to all, without condition. To compromise on rights is to confess that some are less human than others. The wise of every age have known this: from Hammurabi’s codes to the Declaration of Independence, humanity has struggled to recognize that justice cannot be bartered—it must be affirmed.

The second truth is that respect costs nothing. To honor another human being, to acknowledge their worth, to treat them with dignity—this requires no treasury of gold, no laws, no armies. It is the simplest of acts, yet it is the foundation of peace. How many wars, how many oppressions, how many sorrows could have been spared if only people had chosen respect over disdain? The smallest bow of the head, the gentlest word of recognition, holds more power to heal than the wealth of kings.

The third truth declares that repression needs no survey to be undone. No majority vote is required to end cruelty; no poll can measure the worth of freedom. History shows us that the chains of oppression have always been broken by those who dared to act, not those who waited for permission. When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, he did not ask for surveys. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, she did not consult a poll. When Harvey Milk himself stood before the people and demanded equality, he did not wait for the crowd to agree—he knew that freedom delayed is freedom denied.

Consider the life of Milk himself. As one of the first openly gay men elected to public office in the United States, he stood as a beacon for those who had long been forced into the shadows. He fought not with weapons, but with courage, insisting that human dignity was not a matter for debate. His words gave hope to those who had none, and his death, though tragic, became a seed that grew into movements worldwide. In his defiance, he proved his own teaching: that rights need no compromise, respect needs no wealth, and repression needs no approval to be cast aside.

O children of the future, mark well this wisdom: you are never too poor to give respect, never too weak to defend rights, never too few to challenge repression. Do not wait for surveys, for leaders, for crowds. Begin in your own life. Stand for the dignity of the stranger. Speak truth against injustice, even when your voice trembles. Remember that to honor another human being costs you nothing, but to withhold respect costs the world everything.

The lesson is clear: justice requires courage, not compromise. Respect requires heart, not wealth. Freedom requires action, not approval. Let this teaching guide you as you walk your path. In your family, in your community, in your nation, be the one who refuses to bargain with dignity, who gives respect freely, who breaks repression without waiting for permission.

Thus, carry Harvey Milk’s words as a torch. For they remind us that the fight for human dignity is not won in palaces or surveys, but in the daily choices of ordinary people who dare to say: every soul has worth, every life has dignity, and no one shall be denied their rightful place beneath the sun. It takes no compromising, no money, no survey—only courage.