Quotes by Tim Dechristopher - Page 1

Civil disobedience is an act of love.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Acts Of Love
Civil Disobedience
Disobedience
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We need actions that are really coming from people's souls.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Needs
People
Soul
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We think we have no power when in fact we have more than enough power.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Enough
Facts
Thinking
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Respond to stressful times by turning towards each other, rather than away from each other.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Away From Each Other
Stressful
Stressful Times
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The reality is not that I lack respect for the law; it's that I have greater respect for justice.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Justice
Law
Reality
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I don't think a worship of nature is necessary to mount a really strong defense of the environment.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Defense
Strong
Thinking
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I would never go to jail to protect animals or plants or wilderness. For me, it’s about the people.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Animal
Jail
People
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Our security doesn't come from turning away from the hard stuff; it comes from the knowledge that we can handle it.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Handle
Hard
Stuff
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It's really hard to change the world when your first priority is making sure that the little world around yourself doesn't change.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Littles
Priorities
World
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Alienation is perhaps the most effective tool of control in America, and every reminder of our real connectedness weakens that tool.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
America
Real
Tools
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Until our leaders take seriously their responsibility to pass on a healthy and just world to the next generation, I will continue this fight.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Fighting
Leader
Responsibility
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What one person can do is to plant the seeds of love and outrage in the hearts of a movement. And if those hearts are fertile ground, those seeds of love and outrage will grow into a revolution.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Heart
Movement
Revolution
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If we want to change that status quo, we might have to work outside of those rules because the legal pathways available to us have been structured precisely to make sure we don’t make any substantial change.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Pathways
Want
Work Out
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That's why there is such alienation, depression, and despair in our society - because the means we're employing doesn't lead to the ends we desire, no matter how hard we work, nor how much "stuff" we accumulate.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Desire
Despair
Mean
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I don't read the Bible as the literal word of God; I don't view Jesus as a God. I've rejected both those statements. I view Jesus as a model for how we should live, and by that definition I do consider myself a Christian.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Jesus
Christian
Views
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Part of the reason I embrace nonviolence is that it's the most effective thing we can do. It's a more advanced tactic than violence. If people who engage in violence want to escalate their tactics, they would escalate to nonviolence.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
People
Tactics
Want
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My values are primarily motivated by love for other people. I value the non-human world in large part because it's so vital to human beings. Even my appreciation for wilderness grows out of an understanding of how important wilderness can be for people.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Appreciation
People
Understanding
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Religious communities have historically been designed to counteract the forces of alienation. That's why so many successful social movements have relied upon the strength of spiritual communities and a large base of their organizing has been through them.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Religious
Spiritual
Successful
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Dealing with our negative emotions is a crucial preparatory step to taking effective action. You have to grapple with the hard stuff, with the hard realities of the world. This builds your confidence that you can handle those intense situations when they arise.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Negative
Reality
World
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This is not going away. At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like. In these times of a morally bankrupt government that has sold out its principles, this is what patriotism looks like. With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Government
Going Away
Principles
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We need to reject not only outdated fossil-fuel technology, but also an outdated economic system and an outdated corporatist political system. The progressive view is that we are smart enough and ethical enough to not have to be subservient to corporations. We can create our own resilient, localized communities.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Technology
Smart
Views
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If we're constantly suppressing our strong, heavy emotions - like fear and anger and outrage and sadness - it weakens us. But when we're not afraid to confront the hard emotions - when we don't turn away from the pain and the suffering of the world - it builds the confidence that we can do whatever we need to do.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Pain
Sadness
Strong
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Being forcefully rattled out of our consumer mentality - our addiction to comfort and convenience can create an opportunity for us [people] to reconnect with what we really value and with the qualities of life that really can sustain us - which include reconnecting with our roles as citizens, community members, and human beings.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Opportunity
Addiction
People
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Excess consumption doesn't make people happy. We can continue to provide for our needs, but we can't continue the endless pursuit of ever more consumer goods. There is no energy source that can provide enough consumer goods to meet our human and emotional needs; there never has been, and that's why it's been such a fruitless pursuit.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Emotional
Energy
People
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My spiritual path has largely been Christianity - a label that I embraced and then rejected and have partially embraced again, as my understanding of Christianity has changed over time. When I accepted the mainstream, dogmatic definition of Christianity there came a point when I had to say, "Well, if that's what a Christian is, I'm not one."
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Christian
Spiritual
Understanding
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With a nonviolent movement we are still inviting a strong reaction from the government or ruling authorities. We are inviting a powerful reaction against ourselves. But it undermines the moral legitimacy of our current government. That is the path we need to pursue. Rather than reinforcing their legitimacy we need to undermine their legitimacy.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Government
Powerful
Strong
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It wasn't until I started reading the history of religion that I understood that the definition of Christianity has shifted in many different directions over time, and the mainstream view today certainly doesn't have any exclusive ownership of what being a Christian means. Realizing that freed me to use the terminology without needing to be tied down to it.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Christian
Mean
Reading
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Going through intense change with an ignorant and apathetic citizenry, driven by a corporate agenda, is a really, really scary proposition. But going into it with an educated and empowered citizenry that feels it can determine the course of its society and can hold its corporations and governments accountable has a lot of power and potential to it. To me, that's what makes activism so important.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Government
Ignorant
Scary
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Spirituality has to play an important role, particularly in resistance movements. The institutions we are fighting against - corporations and governments - use alienation as one of their primary weapons. A big part of their messaging is intended to make people feel separated from each other, which disempowers them, which makes them ever easier to exploit. This is really a spiritual weapon they are using. It isolates people and breaks their spirit.
Tim Dechristopher / Activist
Government
Fighting
Spiritual
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Tim Dechristopher Quotes - Page 1

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