--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The enemy is the system. And the system…" description: "\"The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of people, and we have a choice in that.\" — Dee Rees" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png" --- # The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of… ![“The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of people, and we have a choice in that.” quote by Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png) > “The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of people, and we have a choice in that.” [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The system is composed of people; we can choose to change it. **In simple terms:** People make the system. Key Takeaway Choose actions that reshape structures. Themes activism systemic change agency Mood motivated hopeful Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - voting - grassroots organizing - policy advocacy - ethical consumerism Key Concepts collective responsibility social engineering personal choice Questions to Reflect On - What personal choices affect the system? - How can we mobilize others? A Different Perspective Change may be slow; collective action required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-people-714345/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-choice-767065/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) ## Related quotes > [We should look at how "the enemy" - people that you wouldn't necessarily agree with - have done change and see whether there's bits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-green/we-should-look-at-how-the-enemy-people-that-you-wouldn-t-necessarily/) [Duncan Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-green/) > [“A squeeze occurs when people have no choice but to do something, and do it right away, regardless of the costs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/a-squeeze-occurs-when-people-have-no-choice-but-to-do-something-and/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [It is a big world that we live in, and people have a choice to love who they love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-the-entertainer/it-is-a-big-world-that-we-live-in-and-people-have-a-choice-to-love/) [Cedric the Entertainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-the-entertainer/) > [“Maybe people had no choice, but I wonder sometimes what would have happened if everyone without a choice had made a choice anyway. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/maybe-people-had-no-choice-but-i-wonder-sometimes-what-would-have/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“How we treat people is always our choice, and if we choose not to be respectful, it can come back to bite us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-levine/how-we-treat-people-is-always-our-choice-and-if-we-choose-not-to-be/) [Alison Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-levine/) > [Isn't allowing people a choice what America is all about?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/isn-t-allowing-people-a-choice-what-america-is-all-about/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [“Between love and the automatic garbage chute, young people everywhere have made their choice and prefer the garbage chute. \[Entre l'amour et le vide-ordure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chtcheglov/between-love-and-the-automatic-garbage-chute-young-people-everywhere/) [Ivan Chtcheglov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chtcheglov/) > [The reason life is so strange is that so often people have no choice,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/the-reason-life-is-so-strange-is-that-so-often-people-have-no-choice/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [“When you give people a choice about being a part of what’s happening, they’re more likely to be committed to a project. Is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-kouzes/when-you-give-people-a-choice-about-being-a-part-of-what-s-happening/) [James M. Kouzes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-kouzes/) > [If people have the choice of where they settle in Europe, then we cannot be surprised that they choose to come over here in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/if-people-have-the-choice-of-where-they-settle-in-europe-then-we/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [The throne we honour is the people's choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/the-throne-we-honour-is-the-people-s-choice/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Conscious people always have a choice of whether to try to modify the actions of people around them or to change their response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/conscious-people-always-have-a-choice-of-whether-to-try-to-modify-the/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [And I would like to have a good, productive relationship with members of the City Council, but I'm not going to allow them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/and-i-would-like-to-have-a-good-productive-relationship-with-members/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [The NWO... we feel like we are the people's choice; we're doing things for the working man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hall/the-nwo-we-feel-like-we-are-the-people-s-choice-we-re-doing-things/) [Scott Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hall/) > [I grew up watching the 'People's Choice Awards.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-grew-up-watching-the-people-s-choice-awards/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## More by Dee Rees > [I want people to get from 'Pariah' that it's okay to be you and not to check a box as a parent or child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/i-want-people-to-get-from-pariah-that-it-s-okay-to-be-you-and-not-to/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I thought I'd get an MBA, and then I could be anything. And I'd write on the side. That was the idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/i-thought-i-d-get-an-mba-and-then-i-could-be-anything-and-i-d-write/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I thought that marketing was a way to be creative in business but quickly learned all creative stuff happens at the ad agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/i-thought-that-marketing-was-a-way-to-be-creative-in-business-but/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [When I first started going out to lesbian clubs, I felt a very binary recreation of hetero culture. There are butches and femmes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/when-i-first-started-going-out-to-lesbian-clubs-i-felt-a-very-binary/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I was always going to direct. I wasn't going to hand my characters over to anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/i-was-always-going-to-direct-i-wasn-t-going-to-hand-my-characters/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [My ultimate dream was just to be an auteur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/my-ultimate-dream-was-just-to-be-an-auteur/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [For me, books were my source of affirmation. Alice Walker, Audrey Lord - it was these authors who wrote about their experiences. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/for-me-books-were-my-source-of-affirmation-alice-walker-audrey-lord/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [When I first came out, holidays were hard. I reached a point where I didn't go home anymore. I constructed my own, kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/when-i-first-came-out-holidays-were-hard-i-reached-a-point-where-i/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [You can't be limited by your own experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/you-can-t-be-limited-by-your-own-experience/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [We shouldn't be discriminating against each other. The whole 'light skin versus dark skin' is an idea we need to break down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/we-shouldn-t-be-discriminating-against-each-other-the-whole-light/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [Going into a room and saying, 'I'm a black lesbian' - it's a strike against you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/going-into-a-room-and-saying-i-m-a-black-lesbian-it-s-a-strike/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [Each moment is defined by a multitude of histories, the past constantly converging upon us, perpetually decaying and reforming itself on the steady pulse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/each-moment-is-defined-by-a-multitude-of-histories-the-past/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I'd go to lesbian parties. I felt like I wasn't hard enough to be butch, but I wasn't wearing heels and a skirt -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/i-d-go-to-lesbian-parties-i-felt-like-i-wasn-t-hard-enough-to-be/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [Before Charlottesville, it might have been easy to dismiss the plot of 'Mudbound' as no longer relevant. Now, I feel like audiences will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/before-charlottesville-it-might-have-been-easy-to-dismiss-the-plot-of/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [For me, like, obviously, I want to see myself onscreen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/for-me-like-obviously-i-want-to-see-myself-onscreen/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) [Explore all 109 Dee Rees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) ## More Choice quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I have too many options when it comes to guitars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-have-too-many-options-when-it-comes-to-guitars/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [“Amazing how a small choice can change your life forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-c-dockens/amazing-how-a-small-choice-can-change-your-life-forever/) [Randy C. Dockens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-c-dockens/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Since I don't outline my books very much, I feel like sometimes I don't have a choice in what the characters do; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/since-i-don-t-outline-my-books-very-much-i-feel-like-sometimes-i-don/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) [Browse all 8,092 Choice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of people, and we have a choice in that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dee Rees" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-is-made-up-of-people-and-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-is-made-up-of-people-and-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/dee-rees-4528_choice_the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-i_3033598.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The enemy is the system. And the system is made up of people, and we have a choice in that.” — Dee Rees", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dee Rees", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The enemy is the system. And...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-is-made-up-of-people-and-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/the-enemy-is-the-system-and-the-system-is-made-up-of-people-and-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```