The most important thing for anyone, I think, is to be engaged, whether you’re an artist or a journalist is to be engaged in the process at some level.
BILLY BRAGGWe’ve heard so much about the American dream: well, Trump is the American nightmare made flesh.
More Billy Bragg Quotes
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All the things about ‘the ugly American’ that we worry about and which the Americans see in themselves, it’s all of that. This is a politics of egotistical display.
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Don’t saddle me with your ideals, and spare me all your guilt. For a poet with all the answers, has never yet been built.
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If we think we’re a nation with great ideas, and a nation that wants to make the world a better place, let’s commit ourselves and involve ourselves with our European partners.
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What happened on September 11 wasn’t the first act of war, it was the most unspeakable act of murder and terrorism. But it was construed by a very small group of people – there is no army out there in the dark waiting to take over America.
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Freedom is merely privilege extended, unless enjoyed by one and all.
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All musicians start out with ideals but hanging on to them in the face of media scrutiny takes real integrity. Tougher still is to live up to the ideals of your dedicated fans.
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I’m celebrating my love for you with a pint of beer and a new tattoo
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I’ve had songs written during the Falklands war, and during the first Gulf war I got letters from soldiers saying they were listening to these songs, like Island of no return.
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Without accountability, there can be no freedom. I know it seems like a paradox.
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At some point in your life you have to engage with the fact that you are part of a society.
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Certainly, the international image of the United States today is a lot less positive than 10 years ago. And that really shouldn’t be, because you have been the victims of this awful terrorist attack, and I think America deserves the sympathy of the world.
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Part of the problem with some elements of the European debate is that they hanker for the days when we were a great power. Those days are gone, and they went a long time ago.
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The evil lot who did that thing on September 11 did it because they wanted to create a war between America and Islam. And by invading Iraq, we gave them what they hoped for.
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Start your own revolution, cut out the middleman In a perfect world we’d all sing in tune But this is reality so give me some room So join the struggle while you may The Revolution is just a t-shirt away
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There are quite a few honest songwriters out there writing about relationships and their own personality traits. But for some reason, once they step out of the bedroom, their honesty doesn’t seem to come with them.
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I came into this whole business by going to see Rock Against Racism gigs with the Clash.
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War what is it good for? It’s good for business.
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Were it not for the Clash, punk would have been just a sneer, a safety pin and a pair of bondage trousers.
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Britain is a great country. We can more or less say what we like, and we can walk down the street without anyone trying to kill us. I know it’s tough for some people, but generally we live in a caring society. We live in a great country, but we’re no longer a great power.
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I’d like to think that in a generation or two we’ll have politicians whose life experience reflects that of the people who are voting for them.
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You have to recognise your responsibility to your community for your actions. Liberty doesn’t mean that you are not held accountable.
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You can have an argument with someone who’s a sceptic. When I say ‘cynic’, I mean someone who has given up, and they want you to give up too, so it makes them feel better about themselves.
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A nation with their freezers full are dancing in their seats, while outside another nation is sleeping in the streets.
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That’s what I’m about — getting engaged. Too many people don’t wade in the mud with the politicians.
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What corporations fear most are consumers who ask questions. Naomi Klein offers us the arguments with which to take on the superbrands.
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It would shine a torch into the dirty little corner where the BNP defecate on our democracy, and that would be much more powerful than duffing them up in the street – which Im also in favour of.
BILLY BRAGG