--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would say for the young: Don't be…" description: "\"I would say for the young: Don't be straight jacketed by ideology. Don't be driven by a structure of ideas.\" — Bill Ayers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/bill-ayers-1848_driven_i-would-say-for-the-young-don-t-be-strai_2536019.png" --- # I would say for the young: Don't be straight jacketed by… ![“I would say for the young: Don't be straight jacketed by ideology. Don't be driven by a structure of ideas.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/bill-ayers-1848_driven_i-would-say-for-the-young-don-t-be-strai_2536019.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/bill-ayers-1848_driven_i-would-say-for-the-young-don-t-be-strai_2536019.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/bill-ayers-1848_driven_i-would-say-for-the-young-don-t-be-strai_2536019.png) > “I would say for the young: Don't be straight jacketed by ideology. Don't be driven by a structure of ideas.” [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. Young individuals should avoid rigid ideological constraints and remain open-minded. **In simple terms:** Don’t let fixed ideas limit you. Key Takeaway Stay flexible in thinking. Themes youth ideology freedom Mood encouraging provocative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - activism - personal development Key Concepts critical thinking political theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance openness with conviction? - What practices keep you from becoming ideologically trapped? A Different Perspective Ideological flexibility can lead to indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Ideology Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology-don-1388026/) [Jacketed Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jacketed-ideology-1388025/) [Say Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-young-506725/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [What good does it do to remain tied to an ideology if you don't achieve anything by it? I have an ideology myself -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/what-good-does-it-do-to-remain-tied-to-an-ideology-if-you-don-t/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [What I always say is that young people need older people to develop their game, grow as people, and understand what Real means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-seedorf/what-i-always-say-is-that-young-people-need-older-people-to-develop/) [Clarence Seedorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-seedorf/) > [It may be a very little thing for you to say to a young man the few words that turn him from the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bartholomew-gough/it-may-be-a-very-little-thing-for-you-to-say-to-a-young-man-the-few/) [John Bartholomew Gough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bartholomew-gough/) > [Simmer down simmer down they say we are to young now to amount to anything else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/5sos/simmer-down-simmer-down-they-say-we-are-to-young-now-to-amount-to/) [5SOS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/5sos/) > [“she would say, this one is too young still, youth has no shame, shame comes with age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/she-would-say-this-one-is-too-young-still-youth-has-no-shame-shame/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I hate when people say 'you're young you don't know what love is' like shut the hell up you don't actually know how someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-people-say-you-re-young-you-don-t-know-what-love-is-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's great when they say I'm young and I'm doing great things. It will get frustrating when they say: 'You're young, you don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-gauff/it-s-great-when-they-say-i-m-young-and-i-m-doing-great-things-it-will/) [Coco Gauff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-gauff/) > [They always say we're too young to love, but maybe they're too old to remember. - Wiz Khalifa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/they-always-say-we-re-too-young-to-love-but-maybe-they-re-too-old-to/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [It's like, God, I'm in my 80s. Nobody, when I die, is going to say, 'How young?' They're going to say she had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/it-s-like-god-i-m-in-my-80s-nobody-when-i-die-is-going-to-say-how/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [“Maybe you know something about young people, and maybe you don't. I, having been one myself once upon a time, know a few things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gidwitz/maybe-you-know-something-about-young-people-and-maybe-you-don-t-i/) [Adam Gidwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gidwitz/) > [“In truth we were quickly reaching--had likely enough already reached--the age where it no longer made sense to talk about "promise." It was around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-r-beha/in-truth-we-were-quickly-reaching-had-likely-enough-already-reached/) [Christopher R. Beha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-r-beha/) > [Being in love doesn't have an age limit, so I don't know why people always say your to young. I might be young but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-in-love-doesn-t-have-an-age-limit-so-i-don-t-know-why-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They say we're too young to love, but maybe they're just too old to remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/they-say-we-re-too-young-to-love-but-maybe-they-re-just-too-old-to/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [The say we're too young to love but maybe they're too old to remember .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-aveyro/the-say-we-re-too-young-to-love-but-maybe-they-re-too-old-to-remember/) [Nathaniel Aveyro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-aveyro/) > [You don't ever want to say to a young person, You can't, or, You are no good. Some people might be able to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/you-don-t-ever-want-to-say-to-a-young-person-you-can-t-or-you-are-no/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) ## 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/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [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/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Driven quotes > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyman-rickover/good-ideas-and-innovations-must-be-driven-into-existence-by-courage/) [Hyman Rickover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyman-rickover/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [I've always liked game shows - the competitive aspect and the character-driven personalities you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/i-ve-always-liked-game-shows-the-competitive-aspect-and-the-character/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [I've always believed that the desire must come from within, not as a result of being driven by coaches or parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-fraser/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-desire-must-come-from-within-not-as-a/) [Dawn Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-fraser/) > [When the enemy is driven back, we have failed, and when he is cut off, encircled and dispersed, we have succeeded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-suvorov/when-the-enemy-is-driven-back-we-have-failed-and-when-he-is-cut-off/) [Alexander Suvorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-suvorov/) > [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-you-ve-driven-me-crazy-you-ve-caused-me-considerable-trouble/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [The P2 is the best car I have driven so far. Once you get your head round it, it's fun to drive, it's responsive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hoy/the-p2-is-the-best-car-i-have-driven-so-far-once-you-get-your-head/) [Chris Hoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hoy/) [Browse all 2,078 Driven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would say for the young: Don't be straight jacketed by ideology. 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