Mona Simpson Quotes

There are many ways of encouraging people to make life better other than joining a political party. Politics with a small 'p' isn't just about darkened committee rooms, endless meetings - it is about giving people the right to make decisions about our lives.

Citizens are refined, cultivated, and very political. I believe in the legitimacy of their participation.

We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.

I was very engaged in my communities throughout college, but I never thought of it as political.

I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement.

It seems to me that any reason for people getting more active in running or taking part in politics and government I think is just terrific.

When I was very young, I took no interest in party politics. My line of interest was how can you be part of an influence to the society that you live in.

The era of big government is over, but the era of big challenge is not. We need an era of big citizenship. There are many important people at this summit, but the most important title is 'citizen.' This is our republic. Let us keep it!

I've always been really uninterested in politicians and the acts of the Houses of Parliament, or government as an idea. But I'm interested in politics in that I'm a member of the world, and I have strong feelings of right and wrong, but I can't get into the ins and outs of it.

I don't think there was really a time when I have not been politically aware.

I don't play politics; I don't do that. I think there's too many celebrities out there claiming what they believe. I think it's our job to get people out to study the issues and to know what they believe and what they want to vote for.

As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved - it's the citizen who changes things.

The most important political office is that of the private citizen.

I just want people to know that if they want to change the direction of the country, they can do it, but only if they're active, informed, and engaged.

On the show, we are not trying to get people to eat their vegetables; we are not trying to get people to become Democrats. We are basically trying to encourage people to get involved with public life so that politics isn't left to the wealthy and privileged.

Until the day I die, or until the day I can't think anymore, I want to be involved in the issues that I care about.

I feel a real responsibility to my community and so right now there has been this bizarre myth in our community how our vote doesn't count. I'm trying to get out there and re-educate on how the government works and break that myth and talk about the importance of being involved.

I do feel, in a sense, the rules of engagement for citizenship has changed, and we must encourage other people to speak up and to take action.

I believe that all students, when asked to be accountable for their actions and to be socially aware citizens, will become agents for change!

I expect we will become more demanding as citizens.

Parishes can help lift up the moral and human dimension of public issues, calling people to informed participation in the political process.

Politics is not a spectator sport. You can't just sit on the sidelines.

The fundamentalist call has resonance because it invited men to participate… in contrast to a political culture that reduces citizens to spectators and asked them to leave things to their rulers.

In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues ….

We are not apathetic in this country.