Barbara Bush Quotes

It's good for people to believe in causes larger than themselves.

I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.

In the U.K., a lot of writers won't show up to support activist issues because they figure they're already repairing the world. I don't want to be one of those people.

I do feel, in a sense, the rules of engagement for citizenship has changed, and we must encourage other people to speak up and to take action.

I was very engaged in my communities throughout college, but I never thought of it as political.

My mother said, 'Did you ever believe you would be an activist?' I said, 'No, not really.' But I just felt in my heart that I needed to step up and be a leader in the forefront.

I became active in politics because I saw the possibility, if we all sat back and did nothing, of a world in which there would no longer be any stages for actors to act on.

When all you can think of is your own personal problems, you have nothing to give to your society. If you're trying to figure out where your next meal is coming from, you can't go march on Washington.

You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can't succeed without your help.

I learnt that if I want to make any difference, or changes to my world, then I've got to be involved. We need passion - that's how things change.

There's nothing quite as powerful as people feeling they can have impact and make a difference. When you've got that going for you, I think it's a very powerful way to implement change.

When enough people care about autism or diabetes or global warming, it helps everyone, even if only a tiny fraction actively participate.

I think the importance of doing activist work is precisely because it allows you to give back and to consider yourself not as a single individual who may have achieved whatever but to be a part of an ongoing historical movement.

The trouble is that we live in a culture where individuation and instant gratification are kings--and civic work requires selflessness and patience.

If you see something that you feel is wrong in society, why not help out?

Being in service and being involved in something that is greater than you is what makes a person complete and whole. The very first thing I ever did in terms of activism was for an anti-atom bomb rally.

The way to change the world is through individual responsibility and taking local action in your own community.

It's very important that people who are feeling the need to do something... get activated.

As a human being, when I see things going on in my community, I feel compelled to do something, to say something.

Music must awaken people to do their duty as citizens and act.

I feel like it's actually everybody's responsibility to use whatever platform they have to do good in the world, basically, and to try to make our society better, whether you're an accountant or an activist or an athlete or whatever it is. I think it's everybody's responsibility.

When people generally are aware of a problem, it can be said to have entered the public consciousness. When people get on their hind legs and holler, the problem has not only entered the public consciousness -- it has also become a part of the public conscience. At that point, things in our democracy begin to hum.

Art and activism seem to go together naturally, the idea being that if you're an entertainer, you can have a voice, and if you have a voice, you can make a difference. But if I were not an actress, I would still try to extend myself beyond my little micro-universe of my job, family and personal joy.

I realized that public affairs were also my affairs.

'Unlikely Brothers' talks about the importance of citizen action and shows why and how we can make a difference.