Phil Ochs Quotes

My drawings and paintings were done as an act of protest; I was trying by means of my work to convince the world that it is ugly, sick and hypocritical.

September 11 either made me love this country or it made me realize how much I already did. I think it's the latter. Seeing "Fahrenheit 9/11" made me think deeply about love of country - how it molds us, drives and emboldens us and how it can sometimes make us so angry, we want to shout out to the world: 'No, this is wrong.'

Theater has an incredible capacity to move people to social change, to address issues, to inspire social revolution.

Art is not something to decorate a wall. Art is a political weapon.

My activism always existed. My art gave me the platform to do something about the activism.

If you have the opportunity for your art to meet activism, you shouldn't pass that up when it comes your way.

Nonviolent, visual protests have a long history of forming images that can quickly go viral and set a powerful tone for a moment.

Each of us contributes our own piece to the whole, each in our own way, each in our own time with the gifts and talents that are ours. You ask about possible vehicles for change: question, stand, speak, act. Engage in unruly behavior. Disturb the status quo. Take direct action. Commit civil disobedience. Make art. Build community. Dance. Sing. Farm. Cook. Create something beautiful and then give it away. Find your own monkey wrench and use it with the force of love. Sharpen your pencil. Vote.

I personally do not believe in strident activism. I do not believe in moral outrage, because even moral outrage is rage, and rage is rage - it adds to more rage in the collective consciousness, if we understand how consciousness works.

We all get outraged by things and there are things that make us angry and maybe for a while we get angry enough to actually go do something about it.

The truest protest is beauty.

Beauty, no doubt, does not make revolutions. But a day will come when revolutions will have need of beauty.

It is within the power of writers and artists to do much more: to defeat the lie!

It feels good to rail against what is wrong in the world, to fight the good fight, to beat the drum of making a difference. I am right there with you.

Societies never know it, but the war of an artist with his society is a lover's war, and he does, at his best, what lovers do, which is to reveal the beloved to himself and, with that revelation, to make freedom real.

Preaching nonviolence on principle reproduces the existing institutionalized violence.

The big dividing line is not and has never been between those who advocate more or less militant forms of resistance, or between mainstream and grassroots activists. The dividing line is between those who do something and those who do nothing.

There is nothing but nonviolence to fall back upon for retaining our freedom, even as we had to do for gaining it.

Toni Cade Bambara said: “Writing is the way I participate in the struggle.”

Music and improving the world are two sides of the same coin.

I caution anyone who in their protest becomes the very thing that they're protesting against. Meaning turning to hateful speech, violating principles and ideals that are sacred in America. We need to raise our voices, but we do not need to indulge in hate.

The rôle of the artist is that of a soldier of the revolution.

Beauty plus pity -- that is the closest we can get to a definition of art.

I have a great deal of hope. I think that change is here, it's happening. But I know that if we think it's just going to happen on its own, that's not the way it works. We need people to keep talking about women of color writing comics and living the charge. Not just talking but doing. Making art, putting it out there.