Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes

I always preach that you have to be active as a citizen no matter what, and some people just voting as an excuse not to do anything.

I believe that engaging in the political process is part of being a good person.

For me, getting young people engaged in politics and public service is really one of the most fun things that I get to do.

The work of being a citizen is hard and annoying, but it can pay off.

I think it's lovely when people are more involved in local politics.

We cannot comfort ourselves with the idea that young people will take a greater interest in our politics as they establish themselves in a job, in their communities or in their family life.

But, you know, I'm sorry, I think democracy requires participation. I mean, I don't want to proselytize but I do feel some sort of duty to participate in the process in some way other than just blindly getting behind a political party.

Our democracy is not something to be taken for granted. You have to fight for it. You have to commit yourself to working for it - for the long haul.

As a citizen, you need to know how to be a part of it, how to express yourself - and not just by voting.

I wanted to be what my high-school civics and history teacher thought of as a good American. That automatically involved taking an interest in government.

Read the editorial page of your local paper. It introduces you to opinion and can be terrifically provocative and perhaps a great motivating force for you to get involved in your community, regardless of your political ideology.

I don't follow politics; it doesn't interest me. So why should I vote?

As a citizen of a community, if you never vote or engage, don't be surprised when the outcome doesn't serve your interests; you've never done anything to push things in the right direction.

As free citizens in a political democracy, we have a responsibility to be interested and involved in the affairs of the human community, be it at the local or the global level.

The first duty of an American citizen, then is that he shall work in politics.

Citizens are refined, cultivated, and very political. I believe in the legitimacy of their participation.

An actual residence of such a length of time as would give a man an opportunity of esteeming the Government from knowing its intrinsic value, was essentially necessary to assure us of a man’s becoming a good citizen.

We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.

In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues ….

Without care, there is no democracy.

We are not apathetic in this country.

Even though I grew up and I didn't always like getting dragged to the meetings or the rallies or the speeches, I developed a very strong respect for participating in a democratic process.

I like to bring my kids to the voting booth to show them how it works. I'll let them draw their own conclusions as to how worthwhile it is.

I've spoken about politics a lot over the years and my main issue that I championed was just general engagement in politics.

The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open.