--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The end of Students for a Democratic…" description: "\"The end of Students for a Democratic Society is viewed by me and a lot of other people as a terrible sorry in many ways, tragic event even though I par..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/bill-ayers-1848_democratic_the-end-of-students-for-a-democratic-soc_2011947.jpg" --- # The end of Students for a Democratic Society is viewed by… ![“The end of Students for a Democratic Society is viewed by me and a lot of other people as a terrible sorry in many ways, tragic event even though I participated in it and played some role in it. But I regret a lot of that.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/bill-ayers-1848_democratic_the-end-of-students-for-a-democratic-soc_2011947.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/bill-ayers-1848_democratic_the-end-of-students-for-a-democratic-soc_2011947.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/bill-ayers-1848_democratic_the-end-of-students-for-a-democratic-soc_2011947.jpg) > “The end of Students for a Democratic Society is viewed by me and a lot of other people as a terrible sorry in many ways, tragic event even though I participated in it and played some role in it. But I regret a lot of that.” [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. He reflects on the chaotic legacy of a 1960s activist group, acknowledging both its idealism and its harmful consequences. **In simple terms:** He regrets the group's negative impact despite good intentions. Key Takeaway Learn from past activism to shape better future actions. Themes activism regret history Mood reflective somber Type historical political When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - education programs Key Concepts social movements ethical responsibility political change Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can modern activists take? - How can we prevent repeating past mistakes? A Different Perspective Idealistic movements can cause unintended harm if not critically examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democratic society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-society/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) [Tragic events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic-events/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s. Students for a Democratic Society grew from a small group of socialists at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/that-s-where-we-all-kind-of-were-in-the-mid-1960s-students-for-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Students for a Democratic Society was founded in 1961.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-was-founded-in-1961/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Students for a Democratic Society\] it's a social democratic program. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-it-s-a-social-democratic-program/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Students for a Democratic Society\] was on many campuses and it was a powerful organization. It was founded by Tom Hayden, who passed away… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-was-on-many-campuses-and-it-was-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Students for a Democratic Society was also affiliated with the civil rights movement everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/students-for-a-democratic-society-was-also-affiliated-with-the-civil/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ Our fiscal ruin and resulting loss of world leadership will, in their \[liberals'\] eyes, be not a tragic event but a desirable one. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/our-fiscal-ruin-and-resulting-loss-of-world-leadership-will-in-their/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [I have an extremely difficult time wrapping my head around such a tragic event as the Elementary school massacre in Connecticut and unbelievable sadness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-moore/i-have-an-extremely-difficult-time-wrapping-my-head-around-such-a/) [Pamela Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-moore/) > [Like, I have had moments, which I think most people have, where you'll be watching TV, and it'll be interrupted by some tragic event,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/like-i-have-had-moments-which-i-think-most-people-have-where-you-ll/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [Early on in my life I comprehended that death is the most tragic event in our life. Events of early Monday July 14, 1958…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ala-bashir/early-on-in-my-life-i-comprehended-that-death-is-the-most-tragic/) [Ala Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ala-bashir/) > [I never cared about whatever tragic event happened in China. It's faraway decoration, even if in blood and plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-never-cared-about-whatever-tragic-event-happened-in-china-it-s/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [I grew up in a very small, close-knit, Southern Baptist family, where everything was off-limits. So I couldn't wait to get to college and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-grew-up-in-a-very-small-close-knit-southern-baptist-family-where/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“And once I opened up all that real estate where before I’d been holding anger and regret, I found a lot of things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-lourey/and-once-i-opened-up-all-that-real-estate-where-before-i-d-been/) [Jess Lourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-lourey/) > [You'll regret this, and you may regret this a lot sooner than you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/you-ll-regret-this-and-you-may-regret-this-a-lot-sooner-than-you-think/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) ## 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 Democratic quotes > [There is plenty of time for Republicans to have a Macaca moment. But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Further more Yemen is leading pioneer in democratic practice, lots of brothers and friends testified on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-abdullah-saleh/further-more-yemen-is-leading-pioneer-in-democratic-practice-lots-of/) [Ali Abdullah Saleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-abdullah-saleh/) > [If Robert Heinlein is more to your taste than George Lucas: “If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/if-robert-heinlein-is-more-to-your-taste-than-george-lucas-if-you-are/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) > [But I don't think the Democratic Party is at eye level with the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-don-t-think-the-democratic-party-is-at-eye-level-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We fight to defend our democratic ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/we-fight-to-defend-our-democratic-ideals/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [I'm going to do everything I can to get myself elected, but that's not enough. I'm going to try to help move the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-going-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-myself-elected-but-that-s-not/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) > [While living in America when I attended Harvard in the early 1970s, I saw for myself the awesome, almost miraculous, power of a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/while-living-in-america-when-i-attended-harvard-in-the-early-1970s-i/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [As the longest serving Independent in the history of the United States Congress, as somebody who came into office by defeating an incumbent Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-the-longest-serving-independent-in-the-history-of-the-united/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The creatives, they want to connect with people. These artists, the clothing designers, they want to connect with people the same way that music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/the-creatives-they-want-to-connect-with-people-these-artists-the/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) Browse all 2,850 Democratic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The end of Students for a Democratic Society is viewed by me and a lot of other people as a terrible sorry in many ways, tragic event even though I participated in it and played some role in it. 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