--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a good liberal in some sense at…" description: "\"I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights movement.\" — Bill Ayers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e20/bill-ayers-1848_civil-rights_i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-th_118164.png" --- # I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted… ![“I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights movement.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e20/bill-ayers-1848_civil-rights_i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-th_118164.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e20/bill-ayers-1848_civil-rights_i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-th_118164.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e20/bill-ayers-1848_civil-rights_i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-th_118164.png) > “I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights movement.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker identifies as a liberal activist focused on ending war and supporting civil rights, reflecting a commitment to social justice. **In simple terms:** Liberal activist seeking peace and equality. Key Takeaway Activism driven by anti‑war and civil‑rights values. Themes politics activism civil rights Mood determined idealistic Type political When to use this quote - protest organization - voting campaigns - community outreach Key Concepts ideology social movements Practical Applications - Align personal actions with stated values - Educate others on historical civil‑rights struggles Questions to Reflect On - How does one balance idealism with pragmatic politics? - What are the limits of liberal activism? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Civil rights movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/) [Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a good liberal, and I grew up in a very liberal family and had very strongly held beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-junger/i-m-a-good-liberal-and-i-grew-up-in-a-very-liberal-family-and-had/) [Sebastian Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-junger/) > [The ultimate good in a liberal state is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-ultimate-good-in-a-liberal-state-is-liberty/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Nothing penetrates the liberal's sense of moral outrage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-whittle/nothing-penetrates-the-liberal-s-sense-of-moral-outrage/) [Bill Whittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-whittle/) > [ I see \[Lyndon\] Johnson as the war in Vietnam, and the invasion of the Dominican Republic and so on. So I'm not a liberal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-see-lyndon-johnson-as-the-war-in-vietnam-and-the-invasion-of-the/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [In Cairo, these young men hanging around in the street, we're told these guys are lazy, they're uneducated, they don't care, they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/in-cairo-these-young-men-hanging-around-in-the-street-we-re-told/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Let's look at two things real quickly: the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the Sixties and the Arab Spring starting in Tunisia and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/let-s-look-at-two-things-real-quickly-the-civil-rights-movement-in/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Each achieves one or both of two objectives — making liberals feel good about themselves and being good to liberal candidates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/each-achieves-one-or-both-of-two-objectives-making-liberals-feel-good/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“First, many of us are tempted to affirm whatever our favorite political tribe affirms, and deny whatever it denies. Nobody likes to risk losing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-chaput/first-many-of-us-are-tempted-to-affirm-whatever-our-favorite/) [Charles J. Chaput](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-chaput/) > [“Liberal politics is based on the idea that the voters know best, and there is no need for Big Brother to tell us what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/liberal-politics-is-based-on-the-idea-that-the-voters-know-best-and/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Different political views, even if they're all liberal, in the sense of supporting liberal constitutional democracy, undoubtedly have some notion of the common good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/different-political-views-even-if-they-re-all-liberal-in-the-sense-of/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Laws should be interpreted in a liberal sense so that their intention may be preserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laws-should-be-interpreted-in-a-liberal-sense-so-that-their-intention/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-one-advances-confidently-in-the-direction-of-his-dreams-and-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Sports are positively essential. It is healthy to engage in sports, they are beautiful and liberal, liberal in the sense that nothing serves quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/sports-are-positively-essential-it-is-healthy-to-engage-in-sports/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I got into politics when I was 12, back when George H. W. Bush was running against Michael Dukakis. We did a mock election…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/i-got-into-politics-when-i-was-12-back-when-george-h-w-bush-was/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-learned-this-at-least-by-my-experiment-that-if-one-advances/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [It transmitted because on the campuses, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was recruiting, was organizing. Students for a Democratic Society was founded at Michigan just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-transmitted-because-on-the-campuses-student-nonviolent/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Civil rights quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Why do we apologize for advocating for ourselves? Why do we apologize for taking up space that we are entitled to? Why do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-tambascio/why-do-we-apologize-for-advocating-for-ourselves-why-do-we-apologize/) Elizabeth Tambascio > [We are a nation of innovators and problem-solvers who sparked revolutions in democratic government, civil rights, communications, flight, rural electrification and technology. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-a-mcchrystal/we-are-a-nation-of-innovators-and-problem-solvers-who-sparked/) [Stanley A. McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-a-mcchrystal/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I grew up in the early '60s, and there was a lot of civil rights, a lot of unrest in our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-grew-up-in-the-early-60s-and-there-was-a-lot-of-civil-rights-a-lot/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/) [Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The notion of women being written out of history is as old as the Bible, but it always seems more galling when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-notion-of-women-being-written-out-of-history-is-as-old-as-the/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) [Browse all 1,552 Civil rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. 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