--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not fighting for justice. I am not…" description: "\"I'm not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for freedom. I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/tom-waits-916_another-day_i-m-not-fighting-for-justice-i-am-not-fi_2808652.jpg" --- # I'm not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for… ![“I'm not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for freedom. I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/tom-waits-916_another-day_i-m-not-fighting-for-justice-i-am-not-fi_2808652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/tom-waits-916_another-day_i-m-not-fighting-for-justice-i-am-not-fi_2808652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/tom-waits-916_another-day_i-m-not-fighting-for-justice-i-am-not-fi_2808652.jpg) > “I'm not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for freedom. I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker prioritizes personal survival over abstract ideals, emphasizing the immediate need to stay alive. **In simple terms:** I fight to stay alive, not for ideals. Key Takeaway Focus on personal survival first. Themes survival personal struggle realism Mood determined somber Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - daily hardship - health crises - political oppression - refugee experience Key Concepts Existentialism human resilience Questions to Reflect On - What personal needs are you neglecting for larger causes? - How do you balance survival with advocacy? A Different Perspective Idealistic goals may overlook urgent personal needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-day/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Fighting for freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-for-freedom/) [Fighting Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-freedom/) [Fighting Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-justice-802278/) [Fighting Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-life/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-fighting-1279540/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-fighting-2665324/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I am much happier fighting for justice than I ever was fighting for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/i-am-much-happier-fighting-for-justice-than-i-ever-was-fighting-for/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [Fighting for peace.Fighting for freedom. Fighting for the rights. Hey,we need them. Fighting for what's ours,In a world people called lost. It's leaving people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iron-maiden/fighting-for-peace-fighting-for-freedom-fighting-for-the-rights-hey/) [Iron Maiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iron-maiden/) > [Anyone fighting for freedom does not want to totally lose their freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/anyone-fighting-for-freedom-does-not-want-to-totally-lose-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [So keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/so-keep-fighting-for-freedom-and-justice-beloveds/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Today, the government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests, Libya is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/today-the-government-of-a-free-afghanistan-is-fighting-terror/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We're fighting for LGBT rights and for women's rights and for Muslims and for refugees. Well, we shouldn't be fighting for those groups, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-rasoul/we-re-fighting-for-lgbt-rights-and-for-women-s-rights-and-for-muslims/) [Sam Rasoul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-rasoul/) > [Only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/only-through-hardship-sacrifice-and-militant-action-can-freedom-be/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [While we are fighting for freedom, we must see, among other things, that labor is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/while-we-are-fighting-for-freedom-we-must-see-among-other-things-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [When it comes to fighting for freedom, those who are willing to fight should not be limited by our bigotry. Only rewarded with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/when-it-comes-to-fighting-for-freedom-those-who-are-willing-to-fight/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/better-to-die-fighting-for-freedom-then-be-a-prisoner-all-the-days-of/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [If you talk to these young men and women who are fighting, they'll tell you that they think it's a worthwhile cause, and they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/if-you-talk-to-these-young-men-and-women-who-are-fighting-they-ll/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I went to jail 44 times. I've been beaten and left for dead on the side of the road fighting for freedom. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-abernathy/i-went-to-jail-44-times-i-ve-been-beaten-and-left-for-dead-on-the/) [Ralph Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-abernathy/) > [At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want... for these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/at-all-times-day-by-day-we-have-to-continue-fighting-for-freedom-of/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [When you're fighting for economic and social justice, you're always fighting for the minority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-kerrey/when-you-re-fighting-for-economic-and-social-justice-you-re-always/) [Bob Kerrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-kerrey/) > [You can Jail a Revolutionary but you can't jail the Revolution. You can run a freedom fighter around the country, but you can't run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-newton/you-can-jail-a-revolutionary-but-you-can-t-jail-the-revolution-you/) [Huey Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-newton/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. 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The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Another day quotes > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. 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Go out, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/consider-developing-your-whole-self-with-the-same-raw-focus-and/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [If you live for today you can live another day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-johnson/if-you-live-for-today-you-can-live-another-day/) [Natalya Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-johnson/) > [Today isn't just another day off, it's a day to remember those who have sacrificed their life for your FREEDOM. Happy Memorial Day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/today-isn-t-just-another-day-off-it-s-a-day-to-remember-those-who/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Another day is another blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mhaj-porras/another-day-is-another-blessing/) [Mhaj Porras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mhaj-porras/) > [You load 16 tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-travis/you-load-16-tons-and-what-do-you-get-another-day-older-and-deeper-in/) [Merle Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-travis/) > [“Dawn. Another day is given us, R’hllor be praised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/dawn-another-day-is-given-us-r-hllor-be-praised/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Just another day in my life. This was one of those days when I thought that maybe a new life, a different life, wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/just-another-day-in-my-life-this-was-one-of-those-days-when-i-thought/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Another day, Another blessing and Another chance at life. Take nothing for granted and think of every breath as a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/another-day-another-blessing-and-another-chance-at-life-take-nothing/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Life is too short to spend another day at war with yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-too-short-to-spend-another-day-at-war-with-yourself/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Another day feeling unimportant. I should really consider being a back up singer...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/another-day-feeling-unimportant-i-should-really-consider-being-a-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,021 Another day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-day/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for freedom. 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