John McCain Quotes

I've never concerned myself with the issues. I'm a political mechanic.

My father got a trade union scholarship to Oxford; he lived and breathed politics; he was always watching current-affairs programmes. But I have a five-year-old child's attitude towards the news. Mainly, that it absolutely turns me off.

I haven't been very active in politics.

And you can really see in all of these issues that are priorities for Eleanor Roosevelt, where the compromises are painful, the compromises are hard, and the difficulties between them really begin to loom very large by 1936, by 1938.

As far as my work for causes or social issues, that's something I'm doing as a private citizen.

I'm not very comfortable being an actorvist so to get to do something that I believe in is a much more comfortable way for me to be political.

I don't want to beat people over the head with my political views. It's more about the humanitarian aspect of it.

Growing up, I realized as an actor I had to figure out how to use my platform in order to give back as well and use that spotlight to shine, or at least to balance that light and to try to shine light onto the other issues that were happening in the world.

I am not a political figure, nor do I want to be one; but I come with my heart.

This In Friendship - out of it came certain connections with the liberal labor establishment. Among the personalities that were involved were Bayard Rustin and a person from the American Jewish Congress, Stanley Levinson.

About specific social issues, there is a great deal to say that departs very far from truism and is, accordingly, significant and controversial.

There are some cities that are doing good stuff, but there aren't enough of them. If you don't fight for what you want, then you deserve what you get. And in politics, if you don't ask, you don't get at all.

All I ask is this: Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause – there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once...Even just learning enough about a subject so you can speak against an opponent eloquently makes you an unusual personage. Start with that. Any one of you would have cried out, would have intervened, had you been in that crowd in Bashiqa. Well thanks to digital technology, you’re all in it now.

People are dangerous. If they're able to involve themselves in issues that matter, they may change the distribution of power, to the detriment of those who are rich and privileged.

The rhythm of being an activist today involves a pretty simple rhythm. You have to open your eyes to the reality before you. You have to look and see.

People on a spiritual path - personal growth, spiritual practice, recovery, yoga and so forth - are the last people who should be sitting out the social and political issues of our day. And there’s an important reason for this: People on such journeys are adepts at change. They know that the mechanics of the heart and mind are the fundamental drivers of transformation.

I have always been involved in issue-based politics, not party politics - I was never really originally drawn to party politics.

One of the great movements in my lifetime among educated people is the need to commit themselves to action. Most people are not satisfied with giving money; we also feel we need to work.

John Kerry met with Ralph Nader last week. Both sides of every issue were discussed. And then, Nader spoke.

I want to continue to speak out on issues that matter to me. I want to have even more of a voice.

I have one thing in common with the emerging black nations of Africa: We both have voices, and we are discovering what we can do with them.

One of the things that I do think government counts on is that people are busy. And it's very difficult to mobilize a busy and relatively affluent country, unless it's over really crucial- you know, foundational issues.

I don't care at all. I don't know the difference from one president to the next.

On reflection, moral judgment in the arts appears rather as a tribute to their power to influence emotion and possibly conduct. And reflecting further on what some critics do today, one sees that a good many have merely shifted the ground of their moralism, transferring their impulse of righteousness to politics and social issues.

And Ralph Nader, God bless him, still out there campaigning. Ralph Nader said today he has set a record for the most campaign speeches given in one day. He gave 21 speeches in one day. Of course, we have to take his word for it, because of course, there are no witnesses.