Quote of the Day

Now more than ever, women are the most important political force in America.  We have enormous power to change the direction of this country, and it's time to use it.  Marching, knitting, and protesting are great.  But voting, and changing who is elected to office, is essential.  The women who come through the doors of Planned Parenthood health centers every day have a lot on their minds, above and beyond getting affordable, nonjudgmental health care: they want a safe neighborhood for their kids and an excellent public school system.  They want to earn a living wage, and work without facing harassment or abuse.  They want family leave and affordable child care.  They want to live in communities free from gun violence.  They deserve all this and more, and that's what I'll be fighting for.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 263

Quote of the Day

Now the floodgates are open.  Women are talking publicly about subjects that were once off-limits, and refusing to tolerate the sexual assault and harassment that have been accepted for far too long and there's no going back.  As Mom used to say, "You can't unring a bell."  It shouldn't be up to women to dismantle the patriarchy, but we can't sit around and hope someone else does it either.  Feminist is not a passive label; it means speaking out and standing up for women everywhere, and also for yourself.  One woman calling out an injustice is powerful enough; when we raise our voices together, we can shake the status quo to its foundation.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 262

Quote of the Day

Here's the good news: there has never been a better time to become an activist, agitator, or troublemaker.  I promise you, doing something -- whether it's showing up at a town hall meeting, getting some friends together to start your own organization, or just refusing to keep quiet about what you believe -- feels infinitely better than sitting on the sidelines.  Looking back on my life so far, the moments I regret most are the ones when I was too scared to take a chance -- the moments when I didn't know what to do, and so did nothing.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 261-262

Quote of the Day

Any time you're trying to change the way things are or challenge the powers that be, it's going to be controversial.  That's been true in every organizing job I've ever had.  Often the work that's most worthwhile seems the most intractable and impossible.  But just because someone else hasn't figured it out yet doesn't mean you can't.  After all, if it was easy, someone else would be doing it.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 211

Quote of the Day

Planned Parenthood is here for women who need health care, regardless of politics.  In fact, if you're a woman who finds a lump in your breast, politics is the furthest thing from your mind.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 185

Quote of the Day

People often ask, "Why do this?  Why get up every day and do work that is so hard?" ... Being able to choose to do work that makes a difference is a privilege.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 185

Quote of the Day

A lot of hardworking people -- especially women -- fall into the trap of thinking, "If I just stay at the office all night, I can do it all myself."  Those first months at Planned Parenthood quickly put any such thoughts to rest.  There were jobs I just could not do, no matter how late I worked or how committed I was.  To build the kind of organization I envisioned, I'd need to find people who had talent and expertise in areas I knew next to nothing about.  Then I'd need to step back and let them do their thing.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 155

Quote of the Day

There are a ton of great ideas floating around the universe, but the ones that end up becoming reality are those someone commits to doing, no matter what.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 124

Quote of the Day

I was on fire.  I wanted to turn to people and say, "Does everybody know what's going on?  Isn't somebody going to do something about this?"  Then I realized: What if that somebody was me?  I'd never started anything other than the odd food co-op and antipollution group, but I realized that if I didn't do it, it probably wasn't going to happen.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 107

Quote of the Day

You can't win unless you compete.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 95

Quote of the Day

It's easy to get caught up in the press and assume everyone else is as well, but I discovered that in most towns, people were busy just living their lives.  In those places we could make a big impact just by meeting people and listening to their concerns.  There's no better way to refute false attacks than to have a conversation with people and tell them what you know to be the truth.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 86

Quote of the Day

(Men) say, "I work for an advertising firm and have never been in public office, but I'm going to run for Congress."  Women, on the other hand, say, "I was thinking about applying for that job, but I haven't finished my PhD yet."

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 83

Quote of the Day

Having strong unions doesn't just make things better for union members: if you enjoy affordable health care, an eight-hour workday, and weekends, thank the labor movement in America.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 60

Quote of the Day

Once you start questioning authority, it's hard to stop.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 49

Quote of the Day

I firmly believe that when half of Congress can get pregnant, we will finally stop arguing about birth control, abortion, and Planned Parenthood -- and we might even fully fund women's health care.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 17

Quote of the Day

Sometimes, when someone is making an idiot of themselves, especially on live television, it's just better to let them go ahead.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. 14

Quote of the Day

For the first time in my life, I'm wondering whether my own daughters will have fewer rights than I've had.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. xi

Quote of the Day

The truth is, anything worth doing has its challenges.  And, yes, fighting for what you believe in can be discouraging, defeating, and sometimes downright depressing.  But it can also be powerful, inspiring, fun, and funny -- and it can introduce you to people who will change your life.

-- Cecile Richards, Make Trouble, p. xi