Once you wake up the human animal, you can't put it back to sleep again. Studs Terkel More Quotes by Studs Terkel More Quotes From Studs Terkel Never go to bed with someone whose problems are greater than yours. Studs Terkel greater bed problem I call myself a radical conservative. What's that? Well, let's analyze it. Go to the dictionary. Radical: One who gets to the roots of things. And I'm a conservative because I want to conserve the green of the grass, the potability of drinking water, the first amendment of the Constitution and whatever sanity we have left. Studs Terkel roots drinking water People are hungry for stories. It's part of our very being. Storytelling is a form of history, of immortality too. It goes from one generation to another. -Studs Terkel Studs Terkel generations stories people The people in Coming of Age were far less curmudgeonly than you would think. The greater percentage said that without the young we'd be lost. One woman, a former Southern belle, now 87, a philanthropist, says, "Well, these young, their history's been stolen from them. And what have we done to make them respect us?" Studs Terkel southern people thinking 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 march important way No matter what the issues are, it has to be handled at the grassroots. When you take part in something, even though that movement may lose, the juices start flowing and you feel you count. You count. Well, that's pretty important. Studs Terkel important Don't be an examiner, be the interested inquirer. Studs Terkel inquirers We hear the term independent contractors in Iraq. Independent contractors? Mercenaries! Studs Terkel iraq independent term Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It's the most theatrically corrupt. Studs Terkel city-of-chicago chicago cities Taking life seriously requires taking death seriously. Studs Terkel Perhaps it is this specter that most haunts working men and women: the planned obsolescence of people that is of a piece with the planned obsolescence of the things they make. Or sell. Studs Terkel pieces men people When it comes to the news, the corporate view is `objective,' all else is propaganda. Studs Terkel news democracy views Ordinary' is a word I loathe. It has a patronizing air. I have come across ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. Studs Terkel air ordinary people Smug respectability, like the poor, we've had with us always. Today, however, ... such obtuseness is an indulgence we can no longer afford. The computer, nuclear energy for better or worse, and sudden, simultaneous influences upon everyone's TV screen have raised the ante and the risk considerably. Studs Terkel nuclear risk energy I'd want the human voice expressing grievances, or delight, or whatever it might be. But something real Studs Terkel delight voice real I'm not a Luddite completely; I believe in refrigerators to cool my martinis, and washing machines because I hate to see women smacking their laundry against a rock. When I hear about hardware, I think of pots and pans, and when I hear about software, I think of sheets and towels. Studs Terkel hate believe art Tom Paine was a great American visionary. His book, Common Sense, sold a couple of hundred thousand copies in a population of four or five million. That means it was a best seller for years. People were thoughtful then. Hope is one thing. But you need to have hope with thought. Studs Terkel couple mean book I never drove a car. I'm hopeless that way. I press the wrong buttons on the tape recorder. But if the person I'm interviewing helps me out, that person feels needed. People need to feel needed. Studs Terkel buttons car people 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 people I was born in the year the Titanic sank. The Titanic went down, and I came up. That tells you a little about the fairness of life. Studs Terkel down-and littles years
