D. B. Sweeney Quotes

Protesting is a fundamental aspect of our democracy, and I will always encourage this course of action, but it can be intimidating.

My parents always went to rallies and demonstrated against certain things; my generation, we often have a political conscience, but we're not that involved.

It is the right of our people to organize to oppose any law and any part of the Constitution with which they are not in sympathy.

I want to be proud of this country, but when aspects of our policy don't align with my ethics, I want to protest them and try to change them.

It is open for anyone to have freedom of speech, and I guess we can all play a role in trying to make a difference in the world. Particularly if your leader is not helping in that area.

We have the freedom of speech. We are able to hold hands in protest and stand up for what we believe in and have people hear what you have to say.

Protests are part of our democracy.

Peaceful protest is a hallmark of our democracy. It has been in impetus for social change throughout our history.

Civil disobedience is not something outside the realm of democracy. Democracy requires civil disobedience. Without civil disobedience democracy does not exist.

One of the great things about our democracy is it expresses itself in all sorts of ways. And that includes people protesting. I've been the subject of protests during the course of my eight years and I suspect that there's not a president in our history that at some point hasn't been subject to these protests.

So now is the time, more than ever, for those who truly value all the principles of democracy, especially including dissent, to be the most forceful in speaking up, standing up and speaking out.

You know, when we get to a point in this country where dissent is extremism, we've turned, I think, a very dark page in our history. And I don't want us to go there. I encourage Americans and I'm - right now, to go to these town hall meetings, to - to talk to your Congressmen, the people that you elected.

It seems the only way to gain attention today is to organize a march and protest something.

Political criticism is our enemies' best friend.

While living in America when I attended Harvard in the early 1970s, I saw for myself the awesome, almost miraculous, power of a people to change policy through democratic means.

I believe boycotts are wrong.

When you show up at a rally supporting a bill, you are supporting the bill.

I am not antigovernment. I would not run a campaign against government.

Those who are outraged will vote.

In the late afternoons and early evenings, the crowd is easily over 1 million. That many people simply can't fit in Independence Square. The demonstration spills in to the streets for several blocks.

I have always believed that on important issues, the leaders must lead. Where the leaders fail to lead, and people are really concerned about it, the people will take the lead and make the leaders follow.

You can register a political objection in a number of ways.

Petitions are ridiculous.

There are three critical ingredients to democratic renewal and progressive change in America: good public policy, grassroots organizing and electoral politics.

When 50 people come to a demonstration, they are faced by 1,000 soldiers. A demonstration of 5,000 people will be faced by 25,000 soldiers. I fear that blood be shed for no price. I want blood that is shed for a price.