Neil Bush Quotes

'Unlikely Brothers' talks about the importance of citizen action and shows why and how we can make a difference.

In the U.K., a lot of writers won't show up to support activist issues because they figure they're already repairing the world. I don't want to be one of those people.

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.

It's very important that people who are feeling the need to do something... get activated.

Public service and community organizing and movement building is such a part of my DNA that it's really hard to separate it.

Every person has the ability to influence change. I am grateful that my voice counts, and I am able to influence change. But more than that, there is a certain amount of activism that is engrained in me.

We're told, 'If you want to change the world, vote.' And really, if you want to change the world, there's a lot more things that you can do.

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.

Art and activism seem to go together naturally, the idea being that if you're an entertainer, you can have a voice, and if you have a voice, you can make a difference. But if I were not an actress, I would still try to extend myself beyond my little micro-universe of my job, family and personal joy.

It's important to be active in the causes that are important to you... That's how we make changes in this world.

I always saw politics as an expansion of my role as a mom.

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

The primary thing I should do, apart from being a good husband, brother, son, and friend, is to be a citizen activist. But I'm afraid it takes away from the writing. Not that anything depends on whether I put an essay in 'The Nation' or not. But you want to participate.

I was always interested in social change but never actually did anything about it.

One of the things that defines a TEDster is you've taken your passion, and you've turned it into stewardship. You actually put action to the issues you care about.

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.

If you don't like what's going on, you have to get involved.

I want Americans to realize that we are the owners of this country, and that one person can make a difference.

I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.

I feel that it's my duty to persuade more people to take part in relevant causes.

I've become more of a citizen and more of an activist.

I became active in politics because I saw the possibility, if we all sat back and did nothing, of a world in which there would no longer be any stages for actors to act on.

I realized that public affairs were also my affairs.

My goal as a citizen is to do what I can to help the causes that I personally believe in.

Since 9/11, there has been a huge leap in people wanting to get personally involved in public service and international affairs.