Patti Smith Quotes

If I had a worldview, and I don't know if I do, but if I did, it's one that's intensely humanistic.

Tolerance, openness to argument, openness to self-doubt, willingness to see other people's points of view - these are very liberal and enlightened values that people are right to hold, but we can't allow them to delude us to the point where we can't recognise people who are needlessly perpetrating human misery.

Taking care of children has nothing to do with politics. I think perhaps with time, instead of there being a politicization of humanitarian aid, there will be a humanization of politics.

Politics is in a crisis because it's separated from our deep humanity.

Politics should not be the least heart-filled thing we do, it should be the most heart-filled thing we do.

I find humanism to be the most rational and positive philosophy for life. And it's not a new thing at all - the history of humanist thought is deep and inspiring.

I believe that, at times, if some of us are almost too critical of our society, it's because our sensitivity and our concern for justice makes us aware that our nation falls terribly short of its highest potential.

I have struggled in life and this has made me sensitive towards the needs of others. Politics gives you the opportunity to really do something.

Women are not only justified, but exhibit the most exalted virtue, when they do depart from the domestic circle, and enter upon the concerns of their country, of humanity and of their God.

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

Redemption should be part of politics, because it’s part of the human pageant.

Perhaps the society has been too quick to understand and too slow to condemn.

We have responsibility that when somebody hurts, government has got to move.

The duty of the church is to march to the ballot box, an army of Christ, with the banners of the cross, and deposit, as she can, a million votes for her true representative …

I never tire of reading Tom Paine.

The most frivolous disaster which could befall himself would occasion a more real disturbance. If he was to lose his little finger to-morrow, he would not sleep to-night; but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the ruin of a hundred millions of his brethren, and the destruction of that immense multitude seems plainly an object less interesting to him, than this paltry misfortune of his own.

Compassion is not a dirty word. Compassion is not a sign of weakness. In my view, compassion in politics and in public policy is in fact a hallmark of great strength. It is a hallmark of a society which has about it a decency which speaks for itself.

When confronted with political evil, we are better off responding to the ‘political’ rather than the ‘evil’.

A politician must become a person again, someone who not only trusts scientific representation and analysis of the world, but also the world itself.

Liberals stand for tolerance, magnanimity, community spirit, the defense of the weak against the powerful, love of learning, freedom of belief, art and poetry, city life, the very things that make life worth dying for. Conservatives stand for tax cuts … and use of the tax refund to buy a gun and an attack dog to take with you when you drive your all-terrain vehicle through the barriers of Republicanville.

Political activity is a type of moral activity. It does not claim to settle every problem or to make every sad heart glad, but it can help some way in nearly everything and, where it is strong, it can prevent the vast cruelties and deceits of ideological rule.

The politicians are not the only people who are in their own silos. Many of our citizens only watch or listen to the news that they want to hear, and if there is anything else, they turn it off. We all need to listen to the people who are on the other side.

If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.

America has the laws and the material resources it takes to insure justice for all its people. What it lacks is the heart, the humanity, the Christian love that it would take.

I do believe in humanism, and I believe that we should treat each other with respect and care and look after each other. All human beings should have an equal chance to survive in society, and inequality is a big problem in society.