Rashida Tlaib Quotes

Being politically active is "more about doing things, not just standing for some platform or being involved in some political party."

My ministry's always been one of social activism. I think a responsible minister must be at some levels involved in the social order.

Politics is not a spectator sport. You can't just sit on the sidelines.

Throughout his presidency, Clinton made a point of getting close - physically and emotionally - to the people whose problems his administration was working to solve.

What we have ignored is what citizens can do and the importance of real involvement of the people versus just having somebody in Washington make a rule.

I am proud to represent people who care so deeply about their communities. Their perseverance and strength only motivates me more as their representative in Congress.

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

My mother at the age of 65 decided she was going to run for mayor. She had never run for public office, and she decided she wanted to try and do some things for the community.

The cooperation of government at its different levels is important and can only be achieved as long as the people of Chicago are directly involved in our efforts and supportive of our goals.

What drives people to public service is a sense of possibility. If you haven't sensed that possibility you don't get started in the same way, you don't feel you can have an impact.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has been one of my good friends in the House of Representatives. When she was brutally shot, Gabby was out doing what she loved to do - meeting with her constituents in a local setting, allowing people to speak to her directly about the issues that concerned them.

People underestimate the impact they can have on the process through contact with legislators. By being part of an organized group in an area that you have an interest in, you can multiply the impact of your own ideas.

Bloomberg is famously impatient with beltway politics and believes that to get anything done you need to work from the ground up.

I thought if anyone need a leg up, it was our foster children. So, I started getting involved in education reform, and that was back in 1998. And as a result of all the reform work that I had done, people urged me to run for the Minnesota state Senate. I did, I was there for six years.

I want to help find opportunities for people to become active participants in their communities.

We need to find a way to empower citizens to make governments take notice.

Like a lot of people, I'm interested in public service and want to do as much as I can to change the direction of this country and will give some consideration to that after midterm elections.

Our calling is not just within the walls of the congregation, but we are part of the life and community in which our condition resides.

There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.

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.

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 was looking for a new challenge and got an interest in trying to make a difference for families. You become more aware of how important families are. They are the key institution in our culture. The reason I got into politics was to try to make a difference for that key institution, whether it was tax policy, education policy, or whatever.

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.

I spent 10 years fighting for reform in Cook County, and I didn't change my DNA when I got to Washington.

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