“The role of an activist is not to lead the masses with a flag draped around his or her shoulders. Activists meet a few people at a time in a coffee shop to explain in hushed tones why they should believe when no one else does. An activist’s moment is not the moment of change; it is the period when change seems impossible.”
“The abundance of beards in periods of social unrest, times of revolt or upheaval, should be noted. It s the handiest way people have of making themselves mysterious.”
“As I witness and participate in our visionary efforts to revitalize Detroit and contrast them with the multibillion dollars worth of megaprojects advanced by politicians and developed that involve casinos, giant stadiums, gentrification, and the Super Bowl, I am saddened by their shortsightedness. At the same time I rejoice in the energy being unleashed in the community by our human-scale programs that involve bringing the country back into the city and removing the walls between schools and communities, between generations, and between ethnic groups. And I am confident just as in the early twentieth century people came from around the world to marvel at the mass production lines pioneered by Henry Ford, in the twenty-first century they will be coming to marvel at the thriving neighborhoods that are the fruit of our visionary programs.”
“They call me a tyrant . . . One arrives at a tyrant s throne by the help of scoundrels . . . What faction do I belong to? You yourselves. What is that faction which, since the Revolution began, has crushed the factions and swept away hireling traitors? It is you, it is the people, it is the principles of the Revolution. . . . [trans. G. Rudé, ellipses sic; Last Speech to the Convention (July 26, 1794)].”
“Which is worse? Lust for the purchasing power of money, or the kind of lust that covets power over others? Let the history of 20th Century socialist revolutions answer that question.”
“Dad had turned conservative, but not in the way of the demonologists who sold us out for tenure and crumbs. More like a man who spurns the false talk of revolution for the humbler mission of resurrecting one soul at a time.”
“The revolution is now just a sentiment.”
“सिर्फ हंगामा खड़ा करना मेरा मकसद नहीं, मेरी कोशिश है कि ये सूरत बदलनी चाहिए। मेरे सीने में नहीं तो तेरे सीने में सही, हो कहीं भी आग, लेकिन आग जलनी चाहिए।”
“Not all speed is movement.”
“The scars are just something that happened to me. They aren t me. Not anymore.”
“हाथों में अंगारों को लिए सोच रहा था, कोई मुझे अंगारों की तासीर बताए”
“As if the sky itself were listening, the dome overhead darkened, and three enormous screens lit up against the black backdrop. People of Luna, said a feminine voice, please give your full attention now to this mandatory broadcast, live from Artemisia Palace. The royal coronation ceremony is about to begin. A wicked grin pulled at Winter s lips. She stepped away from Jacin, faced the people, and raised her arms to her sides. People of Luna, she said, echoing the broadcast and pulling the crowd s attention away from the dome, please give your full attention now to the true heir to the Lunar throne, Princess Selene, live from your very own sector. Her eyes flashed as she swooped and arm toward Cinder. Our revolution is about to begin.”
“But if you knew about this…conspiracy, why did you cooperate with it? Why did you allow Hae-Joo Im to get so close to you? Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases? Tell me. We see a game beyond the endgame… But to what end? Some future…revolution? It can never succeed. As Seneca warned Nero: No matter how many of us you kill, you will never kill your successor.”
“There are times when it is conservative to be a revolutionary, when the world must be turned on its head in order to be stood on its feet.”
“I am not going to leave this land, I will die as a martyr at the end … I shall remain, defiant. Muammar is leader of the revolution until the end of time.”
“At the root of everything lay the passionate desire of thinking people to find a simple, unifying norm for society like the law of gravity that Newton had found for nature.”
“It doesn t matter if most people refuse to understand nor support my efforts, not at all, it doesn t at all matter. What matters is, I am pioneering a revolution.”