--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In America, we have to really be working…" description: "\"In America, we have to really be working on two fronts right now. Immediately, we have to be rising in resistance and protecting our Muslim brothers an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/eve-ensler-1402_america_in-america-we-have-to-really-be-working_1871483.jpg" --- # In America, we have to really be working on two fronts… ![“In America, we have to really be working on two fronts right now. Immediately, we have to be rising in resistance and protecting our Muslim brothers and sisters [and] every marginalized person under threat and siege. At the same time, we have to be planning and envisioning where we're going. How…” quote by Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/eve-ensler-1402_america_in-america-we-have-to-really-be-working_1871483.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/eve-ensler-1402_america_in-america-we-have-to-really-be-working_1871483.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/eve-ensler-1402_america_in-america-we-have-to-really-be-working_1871483.jpg) > “In America, we have to really be working on two fronts right now. Immediately, we have to be rising in resistance and protecting our Muslim brothers and sisters \[and\] every marginalized person under threat and siege. At the same time, we have to be planning and envisioning where we're going. How we build moments and movements, how we come up with the vision we want of a progressive left - that's what comes in after.” [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must simultaneously resist oppression and plan future progressive strategies to protect marginalized groups and shape a hopeful leftist vision. **In simple terms:** Fight oppression now while planning future progress. Key Takeaway Act against injustice and envision change. Themes justice activism vision solidarity progressive politics Mood determined hopeful urgent Type motivational political inspirational When to use this quote - protests - community organizing - policy advocacy - vision workshops Key Concepts intersectionality movement building strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - How can we sustain resistance while developing a coherent future vision? - What concrete steps turn vision into action? A Different Perspective Balancing immediate resistance with long‑term planning can dilute focus on either. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Come up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-up/) [Envisioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envisioning/) [Fronts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fronts/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Marginalized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marginalized/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Movements Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movements-come-2308241/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Progressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progressive/) [Progressive Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progressive-left-2584957/) [Protecting Muslim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protecting-muslim-2584956/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-now/) [Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising/) [Rising Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising-resistance-2584955/) [Siege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siege/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Progressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-progressive-521291/) ## Related quotes > [Living movements do not come out of committees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newman/living-movements-do-not-come-out-of-committees/) [John Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newman/) > [If you look at the people in the Occupy and tax-evading movements, they come from all walks of life and have embraced that attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-allen/if-you-look-at-the-people-in-the-occupy-and-tax-evading-movements/) [Keith Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-allen/) > [I dont believe in labels. I want to do the best I can, all the time. I want to be progressive without getting both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-dont-believe-in-labels-i-want-to-do-the-best-i-can-all-the-time-i/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I want to see a more progressive Democratic ticket. I'm not happy with the Democratic Leadership Council's dominance of the party. And although I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-feingold/i-want-to-see-a-more-progressive-democratic-ticket-i-m-not-happy-with/) [Russ Feingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-feingold/) > [Understanding Hamas/Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the left, that are part of a global left, is extremely important. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/understanding-hamas-hezbollah-as-social-movements-that-are/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > ['White supremacist' and 'white nationalist' aren't like 'meanypants' - you can't just attach them to people you don't like without any thought to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/white-supremacist-and-white-nationalist-aren-t-like-meanypants-you/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [It's a shame that gays who ought to be pushing boundaries have been domesticated and tamed and turned into pets by the Progressive Left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/it-s-a-shame-that-gays-who-ought-to-be-pushing-boundaries-have-been/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [The progressive Left is sometimes very uncomfortable for staunch pro-Israel supporters, but what's very clear to me is that the progressive Left does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/the-progressive-left-is-sometimes-very-uncomfortable-for-staunch-pro/) [Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/) > [It's the progressive left in this country that has viciously and systematically slimed female conservatives for their beliefs. We have the well-worn battle scars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/it-s-the-progressive-left-in-this-country-that-has-viciously-and/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [For the progressive left, social activism grounded in faith and theology crested in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mccurry/for-the-progressive-left-social-activism-grounded-in-faith-and/) [Mike McCurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mccurry/) > [The progressive Left can be in favor of Big Government or population control but not both. The mutual incompatibility is about to plunge Europe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-progressive-left-can-be-in-favor-of-big-government-or-population/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“s far as the Law of Attraction and your power vision go, once you’ve come up with what you want to manifest, don’t worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-rios/s-far-as-the-law-of-attraction-and-your-power-vision-go-once-you-ve/) [Art Rios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-rios/) > [The idea of taking a song, envisioning the overall sound in my head and then bringing the arrangement to life in the studio...well, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/the-idea-of-taking-a-song-envisioning-the-overall-sound-in-my-head/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [We sat in silence, both of us looking up at the stars. He was probably envisioning a machine headed for Pluto. I wished i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chandler/we-sat-in-silence-both-of-us-looking-up-at-the-stars-he-was-probably/) [Elizabeth Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chandler/) > [“I had this tendency to think things through a little too much, envisioning things in the future while I completely missed the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-clark/i-had-this-tendency-to-think-things-through-a-little-too-much/) [Catherine Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-clark/) ## More by Eve Ensler > [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. It seemed like the end of the world. Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-wrote-the-good-body-i-turned-40-and-suddenly-had-this-stomach/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cherish-your-solitude-take-trains-by-yourself-to-places-you-have/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they're waiting for someone to say, 'You're good, you're pretty, I give you permission'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/why-are-women-immobile-because-so-many-feel-like-they-re-waiting-for/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [What neo-capitalism does so brilliantly is that it's always subdividing and dividing, so that people are never able to be joined in their numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/what-neo-capitalism-does-so-brilliantly-is-that-it-s-always/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“De acordo com os congressistas, ouvir as experiências reais de mulheres vítimas de violência era diferente de ler as estatísticas de violência contra mulheres.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/de-acordo-com-os-congressistas-ouvir-as-experi-ncias-reais-de/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The clitoris is pure in purpose. It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-clitoris-is-pure-in-purpose-it-is-the-only-organ-in-the-body/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I believe in irony. And if V-Day has taught me anything, it's that if you go out with artistic, outrageous irony and humor, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-believe-in-irony-and-if-v-day-has-taught-me-anything-it-s-that-if/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [People didn't feel so much shame around it and that they didn't feel so much humiliation around it. And the other thing that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/people-didn-t-feel-so-much-shame-around-it-and-that-they-didn-t-feel/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cancer essentially lives in us and becomes activated at some point, and then cells begin to psychotically divide. Initially, the cancer cell looks like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cancer-essentially-lives-in-us-and-becomes-activated-at-some-point/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Today the United States has the highest prison population in the world, over 2.1 million people. ... We lock people up at a rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/today-the-united-states-has-the-highest-prison-population-in-the/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) [Explore all 241 Eve Ensler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In America, we have to really be working on two fronts right now. Immediately, we have to be rising in resistance and protecting our Muslim brothers and sisters [and] every marginalized person under threat and siege. 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