Legal Commentary

Hillary: "Talent Is Universal, Opportunity Is Not"

By Big Tent Democrat

Post stolen from Melissa McEwan, the Secretary of State speaking at the Female Heads of State And Foreign Ministers Luncheon:

As many of you know, I have advocated for many years that women are the key to progress and prosperity around the world. I believe that. I know that many of you do as well. And the evidence increasingly supports that assertion. We know that investments in women yield very big dividends, and we want women to be given the tools so that they can make the most out of their own lives – run for office to be president or prime minister, work your way up to be appointed to a position of foreign minister, so many opportunities, because we know there is so much talent.

But what I have concluded over the years is that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. And in many places, opportunity is still out of reach for women, no matter how smart they are, how hard they work, how much encouragement they might be given even by their own families, that it is still a very difficult task.

Read the whole thing. What strikes me about Secretary of State Clinton's speech is not that she is speaking about women, but that the statement is true for all manner of people. It is a recurring theme in my writing -- the world is not fair and those of us lucky enough to have had opportunities in our life should understand how much the luck of the draw has put us in a position to achieve whatever successes we have in our lives.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 26, 2009 (boomark / email).