--- title: "6 Voting Quotes By Howard Zinn" description: "6 Voting quotes by Howard Zinn. Plus more from Howard Zinn and more Voting sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg" --- > [There is one central characteristic of anarchism on the matter of means, and that central principle is a principle of direct action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-anarchism-on-the-matter-of/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg) > [ \[...\] There is none that disperses its control more complexly through the voting system, the work situation, the church, the family, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-none-that-disperses-its-control-more-complexly-through-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/howard-zinn-576_america_there-is-none-that-disperses-its-control_1323306.jpg) > [Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but-it-is-a-poor-substitute-for/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/howard-zinn-576_action_voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but_1639400.jpg) > [I think a way to behave is to think not in terms of representative government, not in terms of voting, not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-think-a-way-to-behave-is-to-think-not-in-terms-of-representative/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/howard-zinn-576_authority_i-think-a-way-to-behave-is-to-think-not_2322858.jpg) > [When some people ask me about voting, they would say will you support this candidate or that candidate? I say: "I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/when-some-people-ask-me-about-voting-they-would-say-will-you-support/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_ask-me_when-some-people-ask-me-about-voting-the_2517102.jpg) > [Richard Nixon was not the lesser evil, he was the greater evil, but in his administration the war was finally brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/richard-nixon-was-not-the-lesser-evil-he-was-the-greater-evil-but-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/howard-zinn-576_administration_richard-nixon-was-not-the-lesser-evil-he_2847196.jpg) ## Other authors on Voting - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b008/author-donald-trump-30060.jpg) Donald Trump 12 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/donald-trump/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-thomas-jefferson-90435.jpg) Thomas Jefferson 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/thomas-jefferson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-david-letterman-27689.jpg) David Letterman 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/david-letterman/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-jill-stein-49626.jpg) Jill Stein 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/jill-stein/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-suzy-kassem-596.jpg) Suzy Kassem 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/suzy-kassem/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-rush-limbaugh-81741.jpg) Rush Limbaugh 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/rush-limbaugh/) - [Raphael Warnock 8 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/raphael-warnock/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-rand-paul-77216.jpg) Rand Paul 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/rand-paul/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-thomas-sowell-90605.jpg) Thomas Sowell 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/thomas-sowell/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b008/author-dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche-31038.jpg) DeForest Soaries 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/deforest-soaries/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b003/author-aberjhani-8924.jpg) Aberjhani 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/aberjhani/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/howard-zinn/#itemlist", "name": "6 Voting Quotes By Howard Zinn", "numberOfItems": 6, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is one central characteristic of anarchism on the matter of means, and that central principle is a principle of direct action - of not going through the forms that the society offers you, of representative government, of voting, of legislation, but directly taking power.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-anarchism-on-the-matter-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is one central characteristic of anarchism on the matter of means, and that central principle is a…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[...] There is none that disperses its control more complexly through the voting system, the work situation, the church, the family, the school, the mass media - none more successful in mollifying opposition with reforms, isolating people from one another, creating patriotic loyalty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-none-that-disperses-its-control-more-complexly-through-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/howard-zinn-576_america_there-is-none-that-disperses-its-control_1323306.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/howard-zinn-576_america_there-is-none-that-disperses-its-control_1323306.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/howard-zinn-576_america_there-is-none-that-disperses-its-control_1323306.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[...] There is none that disperses its control more complexly through the voting system, the work situation…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but-it-is-a-poor-substitute-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/howard-zinn-576_action_voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but_1639400.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/howard-zinn-576_action_voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but_1639400.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/howard-zinn-576_action_voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but_1639400.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think a way to behave is to think not in terms of representative government, not in terms of voting, not in terms of electoral politics, but thinking in terms of organizing social movements, organizing in the work place, organizing in the neighborhood, organizing collectives that can become strong enough to eventually take over - first to become strong enough to resist what has been done to them by authority, and second, later, to become strong enough to actually take over the institutions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-think-a-way-to-behave-is-to-think-not-in-terms-of-representative/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/howard-zinn-576_authority_i-think-a-way-to-behave-is-to-think-not_2322858.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/howard-zinn-576_authority_i-think-a-way-to-behave-is-to-think-not_2322858.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/howard-zinn-576_authority_i-think-a-way-to-behave-is-to-think-not_2322858.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think a way to behave is to think not in terms of representative government, not in terms of voting, not…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When some people ask me about voting, they would say will you support this candidate or that candidate? I say: \"I will support this candidate for one minute that I am in the voting booth. At that moment I will support A versus B, but before I am going to the voting booth, and after I leave the voting booth, I am going to concentrate on organizing people and not organizing electoral campaign.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/when-some-people-ask-me-about-voting-they-would-say-will-you-support/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_ask-me_when-some-people-ask-me-about-voting-the_2517102.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_ask-me_when-some-people-ask-me-about-voting-the_2517102.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_ask-me_when-some-people-ask-me-about-voting-the_2517102.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When some people ask me about voting, they would say will you support this candidate or that candidate? 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I will vote, but always with a caution that voting is not crucial, and organizing is the important thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/richard-nixon-was-not-the-lesser-evil-he-was-the-greater-evil-but-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/howard-zinn-576_administration_richard-nixon-was-not-the-lesser-evil-he_2847196.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/howard-zinn-576_administration_richard-nixon-was-not-the-lesser-evil-he_2847196.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/howard-zinn-576_administration_richard-nixon-was-not-the-lesser-evil-he_2847196.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Richard Nixon was not the lesser evil, he was the greater evil, but in his administration the war was…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/howard-zinn/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/howard-zinn/", "name": "Voting Quotes by Howard Zinn", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/howard-zinn/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg" }, "description": "6 Voting quotes by Howard Zinn. 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