Elaine Chao Quotes

Our aims in political activism are not, and should not be, to create a perfect utopia.

We will take up the ball of the Revolution where our fathers stopped it and roll it to the final consummation of freedom and independence for the masses.

Great political and social changes begin to be possible as soon as men are not afraid to risk their lives.

I want every American to stand up for his rights, even if he has to sit down for them.

Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced from pressures from below.

Rights are to be taken, not requested; seized, not begged for.

If there are things that some think are wrong, then people have the right to speak up.

Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.

Right now everyone is able to have a real voice and have it be nice and loud. Being loud is a really important thing right now. It's an amazing thing to watch. It's important because making noise makes change.

We fight, we dare, we end our hunger for justice.

But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags that time cannot decay, I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet: Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

I'm always happy when I'm protesting.

We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.

If the government fails to listen to your demands, then you will decide what is best for you.

I love revolutionaries who have the courage to stand up against the status quo. They're always misunderstood, but they're the ones who are standing up for human rights.

Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when a poem has started a revolution or a rebellion or an uprising, but it doesn't happen that often, and if you put the number of poems next to the number of political acts, it would be pretty slim.

Revolutions are the periods of history when individuals count most.

As I review the great history of our nation, community organizers have been at the center of so many of our great social movements.

There's still a lot I'm angry about, a lot of human behaviour that's appalling and despicable, but you choose what you can fight against. I always thought if I could just put something in words perfectly enough, people would get the idea and it would change things.

Art is about the edges and the sharp corners and those places are not conducive to activism, which is about putting on a gloss.

There's nothing automatic about political change, about liberation.

You know, I'm not a revolutionary.

Writing is powerful. Whether it's a little girl hiding from the Nazis in an attic, or Amnesty International writing letters on behalf of political prisoners, the power of telling stories is usually what causes change.

I have never had a vote, and I have raised hell all over this country. You don't need a vote to raise hell! You need convictions and a voice!

All I want to do is change the world.