Naomi Wolf Quotes

One of the first things I think young people, especially nowadays, should learn is how to see for yourself and listen for yourself and think for yourself. Then you can come to an intelligent decision for yourself. If you form the habit of going by what you hear others say about someone, or going by what others think about someone, instead of searching that thing out for yourself and seeing for yourself, you will be walking west when you think you're going east, and you will be walking east when you think you're going west.

The purpose of education is to make the choices clear to people, not to make the choices for people.

In true democracy every man and woman is taught to think for himself or herself.

You shouldn't be looking for the secret to making people follow fads, you should be looking for the secret to making them think for themselves. Because that's what science is all about.

Humanists recognize that it is only when people feel free to think for themselves, using reason as their guide, that they are best capable of developing values that succeed in satisfying human needs and serving human interests.

Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.

When people made up their minds that they wanted to be free and took action, then there was a change.

The power of the people and the power of reason are one.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

That's the beauty of education, kids taking lessons out of the classroom and back into their own world where they can positively affect their family, their friends, and their greater community.

One little person, giving all of her time to peace, makes news. Many people, giving some of their time, can make history.

If the government fails to listen to your demands, then you will decide what is best for you.

Advice to intellectuals: let no-one represent you.

If you want a free society, teach your children what oppression tastes like. Tell them how many miracles it takes to get from here to there. Above all, encourage them to ask questions. Teach them to think for themselves.

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

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.

Do you force your kids to pay attention to what's going on, or do you let them live their lives outside of it? My hope is that my child is a strong activist. That would make me most proud.

Let people have an education and you can't stop them.

I always tell my students: I don't care which side you're on. I respect you too much to try to persuade you in 120 minutes a week, much less lure you into pretending that you agree with me. All I want is for you to own this democracy, to see yours, to have a stake in it.

Those of us who participate realize the incredible honor bestowed on us, but to really understand the true scope and depth of the movement requires more investigation and concentration.

You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.

I believed in Bobby Kennedy. Campaigning for him was an attempt to give back something to this country that has given me so much.

What makes community organizing especially attractive is the faith it places in the ability of the poor to make decisions for themselves.

Literacy has fueled most of the freedom movements in the last centuries.

If we are going to live in a world ruled by true democracy, then it is essential that every human being receives the kind of education that will best develop his faculties. In addition, each and every one of us must become conscious of the fact that we have an obligation to think for ourselves so that we may function as citizens.