Ralph Nader Quotes

Politicians, they give the visible aspect of the change, but the change, the root, the anchor are in young people.

Young people have so much more power than they tend to think to be able to affect politics. And if people will organize and get involved and go out and knock on doors and hand out leaflets and make a change, then they can determine the future.

I think we need more young people; we need to elect young people to government. We need to give them a chance, in the media, in politics, in democracy.

We need to get young people excited about politics, excited about government.

I have long been impressed with the focus on politics and that focus being... from young people.

I always say that the largest party in every country - the largest opposition group in every country - is the youth party.

The great thing about 2017 is that, because of the terrible political state that we're in and that America is in, young people are so vocal at the moment about so many issues, from racism to LGBT rights to beyond. I feel like - especially when I look at my fan-base - people are so vocal about their opinions and so vocal about spreading love. That's really important, and I think it's really amazing that people are talking about that. I just want that to keep happening.

I think young people are recognizing the power of institutions, and we have to really dismantle a lot of the stigma and shame, culturally, but we also have to change things in terms of how government and institutions deal with this.

I think being able to identify with young people and...their capacity to change the world and shake things up. I think that's the greatest strength.

All too often the worst thing that can happen to the young is to depoliticize them. When that happens, not only are young people told that they do not count – your agency is worthless, your experiences are worthless, and your voice should remain silent – but they are also told that there is no alternative to current state of affairs.

The greatest thing to me about Obama is not the individual, it does not have to do with Obama himself - it's really about the people who have elected Obama. It demonstrates that people are ready for change, and I think Obama knows that, because he really came up from the people, the young generation especially. He motivated a lot of African Americans who never voted before to go and vote.

I hope that young people will also look to politics as a vehicle to not only have their voices heard, but actually to be the change makers that they want to see. They are disaffected, understandably, but I hope that young people will not only turn out to vote but also run for office.

I started in politics as a fresh graduate wanting to make a difference, by bringing more political awareness and interest to young people.

The young people are the most active and vital force in society. They are the most eager to learn and the least conservative in their thinking. This is especially so in the era of socialism.

Young people need to re-engage with politics. The life of democracy depends on it. We've left it to the stuff shirts, and obviously they haven't been minding the store.

I do think that you're starting to see young people pay attention to some longterm issues that they feel Washington has neglected.

Are people who want this kind of progressive change not turning up at polling stations? Are they not voting for progressive representatives? It's hard to put your finger on why we are where we are.

Young people can be the catalyst for starting the effort to redefine what's important in America.

I think I did in the sense that there's a whole generation coming up behind us that was engaged, inspired, worked for change during the course of my presidency, saw what was possible. And that generation, it's coming.

Many young people are hungry for new thinking. So I invite them to use the tools and other resources we have developed to accelerate the shift from domination to partnership.

Please do not assume that you can change governments. Young people don’t understand this.

I believe that the only true agents of change on a large scale, in this country or anywhere, are young people.

I'll have 15 letters today from mostly young kids who don't like what's going on and want to do something about it, and [they ask me] if I can give them some advice as to what they should do, or can I tell them what to read or something.

Women and people of color and young people especially are about to have this amazing opportunity to shift the political conversation in this country for the good of all of us, toward more progressive policies, and it's a really amazing and important time to be part of that.