“Giving kids clothes and food is one thing, but it’s much more important to teach them that other people besides themselves are important and that the best thing they can do with their lives is to use them in the service of other people.”

When a group of people get together, it’s collective power. You know that you’re doing it for the good.

People would say ‘Who is a leader?’ A leader is a person that does the work. It’s very simple. It’s a personal choice for people who choose to put in their time and their commitment to do the work. It’s a personal choice.

Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.

If you haven’t forgiven yourself something, how can you forgive others?

Exercise your right to vote.

I want to say to mothers out there, you know, take your children to marches. Take them to meetings because this is a way that they can become strong, and they understand what politics is all about because they are actually living it.

Organized labor is the only way to have fair distribution of wealth.

In fact, the corporations are driving out the competition and it is not getting better, especially when they are not paying income taxes. Thank goodness for the social media out there, because we sure can’t count on the corporate media to get the word out.

As organizations, we have to find ways to create more opportunities, especially for our young people. A lot of corporations, they have to make opportunities for young people – create internships, for example, even if it’s only half-time.

People can take power over their communities and over their lives. Some people don’t realize they can do that. They think ‘It’s OK for other people, but I myself can’t do it.’ Hopefully, that will come out of the film.

I think we brought to the world, the United States anyway, the whole idea of boycotting as a nonviolent tactic. I think we showed the world that nonviolence can work to make social change.

As we’ve focused more on our food and where it comes from, people now have greater awareness of what’s being put onto our food, pesticides, labeling issues, and consumer health.

If we don’t have workers organized into labor unions, we’re in great peril of losing our democracy.

I was very fortunate to have known Fred Ross Sr., who was organizing the Community Service Organization (CSO) way back in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I was able to work with him.

The racist rhetoric from politicians is inspiring people to organize, as more people see what happens by not getting active.

When you choose to give up your time and resources to participate in community work, that’s what makes a leader.

I don’t watch TV. I think it destroys the art of talking about oneself.

Monogamous heterosexual love is probably one of the most difficult, complex and demanding of human relationships.

Being compared to Ian Thorpe, that could be one of the greatest compliments you could ever get in swimming – being compared to him and Mark Spitz.

I’m not paranoid, no. I’m different in that I have enemies. Very real ones.

After adolescence, if one’s life is sufficiently interesting, the desire to tell oneself stories diminishes.

Does one ever read a politician’s books?

We’ll go where the air is pure, where all sounds are soothing, where, no matter how proud one may be, one feels humble and finds oneself small- in short, we’ll go to the sea. I love the sea as one loves a mistress and I long for her when I haven’t seen her for some time

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it.