Studs Terkel Quotes

When you become part of something, in some way you count. It could be a march; it could be a rally, even a brief one. You're part of something, and you suddenly realize you count. To count is very important.
Studs Terkel

Important, Become, Realize

You happen to be talking to an agnostic. You know what an agnostic is? A cowardly atheist.
Studs Terkel

Happen, Talking, Agnostic

I always love to quote Albert Einstein because nobody dares contradict him.
Studs Terkel

Love, Him, Nobody

I want people to talk to one another no matter what their difference of opinion might be.
Studs Terkel

Opinion, Another, Talk

I want, of course, peace, grace, and beauty. How do you do that? You work for it.
Studs Terkel

Beauty, Work, Peace

With optimism, you look upon the sunny side of things. People say, 'Studs, you're an optimist.' I never said I was an optimist. I have hope because what's the alternative to hope? Despair? If you have despair, you might as well put your head in the oven.
Studs Terkel

Hope, Put, Said

Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It's the most theatrically corrupt.
Studs Terkel

American, City, Corrupt

I hope for peace and sanity - it's the same thing.
Studs Terkel

Peace, Hope, Same

I think it's realistic to have hope. One can be a perverse idealist and say the easiest thing: 'I despair. The world's no good.' That's a perverse idealist. It's practical to hope, because the hope is for us to survive as a human species. That's very realistic.
Studs Terkel

Good, Hope, Human

We use the word 'hope' perhaps more often than any other word in the vocabulary: 'I hope it's a nice day.' 'Hopefully, you're doing well.' 'So how are things going along? Pretty good. Going to be good tomorrow? Hope so.'
Studs Terkel

Good, Hope, Nice

Why are we born? We're born eventually to die, of course. But what happens between the time we're born and we die? We're born to live. One is a realist if one hopes.
Studs Terkel

Time, Live, Die

That's what we're missing. We're missing argument. We're missing debate. We're missing colloquy. We're missing all sorts of things. Instead, we're accepting.
Studs Terkel

Missing, Accepting, Argument

All the other books ask, 'What's it like?' What was World War II like for the young kid at Normandy, or what is work like for a woman having a job for the first time in her life? What's it like to be black or white?
Studs Terkel

Life, Work, Time

But once you become active in something, something happens to you. You get excited and suddenly you realize you count.
Studs Terkel

Become, Once, Realize

I hope that memory is valued - that we do not lose memory.
Studs Terkel

Hope, Lose, Memory

I thought, if ever there were a time to write a book about hope, it's now.
Studs Terkel

Time, Hope, Book

I want a language that speaks the truth.
Studs Terkel

Truth, Language, Speaks

I want to praise activists through the years. I praise those of the past as well, to have them honored.
Studs Terkel

Past, Through, Praise

I'm not up on the Internet, but I hear that is a democratic possibility. People can connect with each other. I think people are ready for something, but there is no leadership to offer it to them. People are ready to say, 'Yes, we are part of a world.'
Studs Terkel

Leadership, Hear, Ready

I've always felt, in all my books, that there's a deep decency in the American people and a native intelligence - providing they have the facts, providing they have the information.
Studs Terkel

Deep, American, Books

If solace is any sort of succor to someone, that is sufficient. I believe in the faith of people, whatever faith they may have.
Studs Terkel

Faith, Someone, May

Nonetheless, do I have respect for people who believe in the hereafter? Of course I do. I might add, perhaps even a touch of envy too, because of the solace.
Studs Terkel

Respect, Envy, Touch

People are ready to say, 'Yes, we are ready for single-payer health insurance.' We are the only industrialized country in the world that does not have national health insurance. We are the richest in wealth and the poorest in health of all the industrial nations.
Studs Terkel

Health, Country, Wealth

Religion obviously played a role in this book and the previous book, too.
Studs Terkel

Religion, Book, Played

So people are ready. I feel hopeful in that sense.
Studs Terkel

Sense, Ready, Hopeful

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Journalist

Born: May 16, 1912

Died: October 31, 2008

Links

Find on Amazon: Studs Terkel

Cite this Page: Citation

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