17+ Utah Phillips Quotes On Education, Constitution And You

Utah Phillips was an American singer, storyteller, poet, labor organizer, and political activist. He was known for his songs that celebrated the struggles of labor unions and the power of direct action. He was a major figure in the folk music revival of the 1970s and 1980s and was inducted into the Folk Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Utah Phillips on education, life, constitution.

The Earth is not dying-it is being killed. And the people who are killing it have names and addresses. — Utah Phillips

But if it’s true that the only true life I had was the life of my brain, what sense does it make to hand that brain to somebody for eight hours a day for their particular use on the presumption that, at the end of the day, they will give it back in an unmutilated condition? Fat chance! — Utah Phillips

Every good educator knows that true teaching is to teach kids how to ask the right questions. — Utah Phillips

As I have said so often before, the long memory is the most radical idea in America... — Utah Phillips

I'm here to change the world, and if I am not, I am probably wasting my time. — Utah Phillips

They're going to clear cut your best thoughts for the sake of profit unless you learn to resist, because the profit system follows the path of least resistance and following the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked! — Utah Phillips

I guarantee, that if I am elected, I will take over the White House, hang out, shoot pool, scratch my ass, and not do a damn thing . . . Which is to say, if you want something done, don't come to me to do it for you; you got to get together and figure out how to do it yourselves. Is that a deal? — Utah Phillips

Folk music isn't owned by anybody. It is owned by everybody, like the national parks, the postal system, and the school system. It's our common property. There is nobody's name on it. Nobody can make money on it. It's not copywritten. — Utah Phillips

Chris Chandler is the best performance poet I have ever seen. — Utah Phillips

The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free. — Utah Phillips

Children, be worried when they call you America's most valuable natural resource. Have you seen what they've done to the other natural resources? — Utah Phillips

When I went to high school - that's about as far as I got - reading my U.S. history textbook, well, I got the history of the ruling class. I got the history of the generals and the industrialists and the presidents that didn't get caught. How 'bout you? I got all of the history of the people who owned the wealth of the country, but none of the history of the people that created it. — Utah Phillips

I said, "OK, Ammon [Hennacy], I will try that." He said, "You came into the world armed to the teeth. With an arsenal of weapons, weapons of privilege, economic privilege, sexual privilege, racial privilege. You want to be a pacifist, you're not just going to have to give up guns, knives, clubs, hard, angry words, you are going to have lay down the weapons of privilege and go into the world completely disarmed." — Utah Phillips

Sing your song Dance your dance Tell your story I will Listen and remember — Utah Phillips

The most un-American thing you can do is to stifle dissent — Utah Phillips

Laurie Lewis' songs combine passion and sheer craft in a way you don't hear very often. Whatever country music is supposed to be, she's at the center of it. — Utah Phillips

The state can't give you freedom, and the state can't take it away. You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free... — Utah Phillips

Life Lessons by Utah Phillips

1. Utah Phillips taught us the importance of standing up for what we believe in and fighting for social justice.
2. He also taught us the value of storytelling and how it can be used to connect people and bring them together.
3. Finally, he showed us the power of music and how it can be used to express our feelings and experiences.