Martine Syms Quotes

Public policies in our democracy are eventually a reflection of public opinion," so public opinion must be reshaped if we are to avoid disaster.

Protest is, at its core, designed to move policy.

It's funny how social activists usually protest against the only things that have a credible chance of achieving the activists' goals.

Is art influential? It can be - 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' rallied abolitionists, and 'The Jungle' provoked the demand for a safer food industry.

The most peaceful means of changing public policy: It's called politics.

When you change media, perception is changed and then policy is changed.

My mother informed me that the way to be a change agent to create change, the first line of defense, or however you want to phrase that, is politics and government.

In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is possible is only possible because some people have demanded the impossible. The abolitionists helped to create a public discourse in which men like Lincoln become possible. That doesn't mean Lincoln is an abolitionist. It means there is a public opinion out there which is being influenced by antislavery sentiment.

Campaigns have consequences.

The essential mark of the agitator is the high value he places on the emotional response of the public. Whether he attacks or defends social institutions is a secondary matter.

What you always do before you make a decision is consult. The best public policy is made when you are listening to people who are going to be impacted. Then, once a policy is determined, you call on them to help you sell it.

No politician can sit on a hot issue if you make it hot enough.

Social change comes not only from the courtroom, but from talking to the media.

I've played hundreds of protests. I've marched on dozens of picket lines. I've strummed my guitar at innumerable demonstrations.

My first passion is politics.

Political culture has become popular culture.

I see the value of being a force. I don't want to say a force, but numbers. If you're all spread out, you can't change policy for the better, and I feel we've done that.

You should not want to be a politician because you want to be president. You should be a politician because you want to fix the world or represent a movement.

I'm a person who's always been politically active and passionate about people's rights.

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.

The populists are spreading slogans. We have to offer solutions and answers.

I think voting is the lowest form of political action that you can do. A lot of times, it keeps people from doing stronger things.

It can't change anything immediately, but films can absolutely be catalysts for conversation.

Part of the reason why I wanted to be involved in politics was to create and be a part of policy changes.

If the only time you bang the drum is when it's time to get someone elected, and you don't get involved in a mass movement, then you're working against real and substantive change.