Societal Change Quotes

“The faint outlines of two packages on his front porch attracted his attention. The size of the packages matched his two packages that contained his Christmas gifts and handwritten cards for his son and daughter. Samantha wouldn’t do that, he thought.”
― Shafter Bailey, James Ed Hoskins and the One-Room Schoolhouse: The Unprosecuted Crime Against Children

“Cindy, when you went to sleep this night, you did not know you would take the first step of the proverbial thousand-mile journey before the next dawn. You will need genuine strength for each step. Remember, truth is the only source of genuine strength on planet Earth.”
― Shafter Bailey, Cindy Divine: The Little Girl Who Frightened Kings

“I spent the beginning of my focus on activism by doing what most everyone else was doing; blaming other people and institutions. Don’t like the war? Let’s blame the president, congress, or lobbyists. Don’t like ecological disregard? Let’s blame this or that corrupt corporation or some regulatory body for poor performance. Don’t like being poor and socially immobile? Let’s blame government coercion and interference in this free market utopia everyone keeps talking about.

The sobering truth of the matter is that the only thing to blame is the dynamic, causal unfolding of system expression itself on the cultural level. In other words, none of us create or do anything in isolation – it’s impossible. We are system-bound both physically and psychologically; a continuum. Therefore our view of causality with respect to societal change can only be truly productive if we seek and source the most relevant sociological influences we can and begin to alter those effects from the root causes.”
― Peter Joseph

“Everyone is so locked into the current way of doing things, they never see the larger picture or other, more responsible and efficient possibilities. A REAL economy is always wanting to limit consumption/manufacturing as much as possible by assuring the strategically "best" and "adaptable" productions at all times, while keeping balance with human needs and public health.

It is a total shift in intent than what we have today.”
― Peter Joseph

“After all, we are all immigrants to the future; none of us is a native in that land. Margaret Mead famously wrote about the profound changes wrought by the Second World War, “All of us who grew up before the war are immigrants in time, immigrants from an earlier world, living in an age essentially different from anything we knew before.” Today we are again in the early stages of defining a new age. The very underpinnings of our society and institutions--from how we work to how we create value, govern, trade, learn, and innovate--are being profoundly reshaped by amplified individuals. We are indeed all migrating to a new land and should be looking at the new landscape emerging before us like immigrants: ready to learn a new language, a new way of doing things, anticipating new beginnings with a sense of excitement, if also with a bit of understandable trepidation.”
― Marina Gorbis, The Nature of the Future: Dispatches from the Socialstructed World

“To make your Opinion Count,
you have to do something more
than just making Money.”
― Vineet Raj Kapoor

“Gender is not an easy conversation to have. It makes people uncomfortable, sometimes even irritable. Both men and women are resistant to talk about gender, or are quick to dismiss the problems of gender. Because thinking of changing the status quo is always uncomfortable.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“a long period of education must precede any great fundamental change in society”
― Lucy Parsons

“The tobacco control movement provides a good model for how to achieve massive societal changes. In 1965, over 50 percent of men and 34 percent of women smoked. By 2010, only 23.5 percent of men and 17.9 percent of women were smoking (CDC 2011). These numbers represent one of the twentieth century’s most important public health achievements.”
― Anthony Biglan, The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World

“The first time he saw her she was wearing a blue khaki uniform and a pair of shabby pigskin shoes - like those worn by high school students - under a pair of baggy pants. He would have sworn that she had come from the police department to check their residence permits. He was even more surprised when she opened her mouth - half the words that tumbled out were political phrases lifted straight from the newspaper. He had heard Wang Qiyao mention Jiang Lili and knew about her family background, but the woman before him did not conform to the description at all: he couldn't figure out which side of her was real and which was merely a show.”
― Wang Anyi

“Como imaginar uma solução verdadeira, isto é, radical, para o problema da crise ecológica, sem mudar, do vinho para a água, o modo atual de produção e de consumo, gerador de desigualdades gritantes e de estragos catastróficos? Como impedir a degradação crescente do meio ambiente sem romper com uma lógica econômica que só conhece a lei do mercado, do lucro e da acumulação? Quer dizer, sem um projeto utópico de transformação social, que submeta a produção a critérios extraeconômicos, democraticamente escolhidos pela sociedade? E como imaginar semelhante projeto sem integrar, como um dos seus principais eixos, uma nova atitude em relação à natureza, respeitosa do meio ambiente? O "Princípio Responsabilidade" (de Hans Jonas) é incompatível com um conservacionismo tremente, que se recusa a questionar o sistema econômico atual, e que qualifica de "irrealista" qualquer busca por uma alternativa.”
― Michael Löwy, O que é ecossocialismo?

“One of the most difficult things is not to change society — but to change yourself.”
― Nelson Mandela

“With leaders and visionaries, we observe the ego as a mighty vessel, steering through the seas of societal change, powered by the winds of essence, a force of unwavering purpose and authenticity. Their legacies, etched in the annals of time, remind us that when ego serves essence, the impossible becomes possible, and the world itself transforms.”
― Kevin L. Michel, The 7 Laws of Quantum Power

“Transformative teaching causes a paradigm shift, and instills in students the profound belief that they possess the agency to effectuate profound personal and societal change.”
― Asuni LadyZeal

“The struggles you face usually aren't because you're neurodivergent. They're often because the world hasn't figured out how to work with different kinds of minds.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Neurodivergent People: A NeuroFlex ACT Guide for Living Fully with ADHD, Autism, OCD, and a Neurodivergent Life

“The world doesn’t need you to shrink into its boxes. It needs you to stand tall in your unique brilliance and build bridges wide enough for others to walk beside you. Every time you show up as you are, ask for what you need, or celebrate your differences, you strengthen those bridges. With each person who crosses, the world grows richer with the creativity, insight, and joy that only comes when every mind has room to thrive.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Neurodivergent People: A NeuroFlex ACT Guide for Living Fully with ADHD, Autism, OCD, and a Neurodivergent Life

“When you live authentically according to your values, you create ripples that extend far beyond your personal experience.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist’s Handbook for LGBTQ+: A NeuroFlex ACT Guide for LGBTQ+ Individuals, Families, and Friends to Thrive with Authenticity