--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If young people do not begin to make…" description: "\"“If young people do not begin to make history, politicians and inevitability will destroy it.”\" — Timothy Snyder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg" --- # If young people do not begin to make history, politicians… ![“If young people do not begin to make history, politicians and inevitability will destroy it.” quote by Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg) > ““If young people do not begin to make history, politicians and inevitability will destroy it.”” [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If youth disengage, politics may reshape history without their input **In simple terms:** Youth inaction lets politics dictate history Key Takeaway Encourage young people to actively shape their future Themes politics history activism Mood urgent inspired Type activist philosophical When to use this quote - school curricula - community projects - social media campaigns - voter education Key Concepts civic engagement generational change political agency Questions to Reflect On - What history do you want to help create? - How can you amplify youth voices? A Different Perspective Even engaged youth can be overridden by entrenched powers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-politicians-1165517/) [Inevitability Destroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitability-destroy-3678779/) [Make history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-history/) [Politicians Inevitability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians-inevitability-3678778/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“If young people do not begin to make history, politicians of eternity and inevitability will destroy it. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-history-politicians-of-eternity/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“If young people do not begin to make history, politicians of eternity and inevitability will destroy it. And to make history, young Americans will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-history-politicians-of-eternity-2/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“generations have laid before them. One thing is certain: If young people do not begin to make history, politicians of eternity and inevitability will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/generations-have-laid-before-them-one-thing-is-certain-if-young/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [It is my belief that politicians should not be stepping into the realm of history. Rather, politicians should be taking a future-oriented perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinzo-abe/it-is-my-belief-that-politicians-should-not-be-stepping-into-the/) [Shinzo Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinzo-abe/) > [Throughout history, politicians have used other people's property to buy themselves power. That is the primary achievement of the welfare state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/throughout-history-politicians-have-used-other-people-s-property-to/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [It is not heroes that make history, but history that makes heroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/it-is-not-heroes-that-make-history-but-history-that-makes-heroes/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [“You are the author of your own destiny; write yourself into history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/you-are-the-author-of-your-own-destiny-write-yourself-into-history/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Every time I go to the park and the game's about to start, I tell myself: 'It's time to make history.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-tatis-jr/every-time-i-go-to-the-park-and-the-game-s-about-to-start-i-tell/) [Fernando Tatis Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-tatis-jr/) > [Everybody wants to make history into what's good for them. It's very depressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-lamy/everybody-wants-to-make-history-into-what-s-good-for-them-it-s-very/) [Michele Lamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-lamy/) > [The way we make history exciting to learn about is by breaking down the barriers that are already set up between these people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daveed-diggs/the-way-we-make-history-exciting-to-learn-about-is-by-breaking-down/) [Daveed Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daveed-diggs/) > [We make the future better than the past. We don't hide from history. We make history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/we-make-the-future-better-than-the-past-we-don-t-hide-from-history-we/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“...what has mattered are the moments of exposure to every life, when habit is no longer enough, and choices have to be made. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/what-has-mattered-are-the-moments-of-exposure-to-every-life-when/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Anybody can make history; only a great man can write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-make-history-only-a-great-man-can-write-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Work hard, have fun and make history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/work-hard-have-fun-and-make-history/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) ## More by Timothy Snyder > [“Nationalism is relativist, since the only truth is the resentment we feel when we contemplate others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/nationalism-is-relativist-since-the-only-truth-is-the-resentment-we/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-time-is-out-of-joint-o-cursed-spite-that-ever-i-was-born-to-set/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“salami tactics—slicing off layers of opposition one by one. Most people were distracted, some were imprisoned, and others were outmatched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/salami-tactics-slicing-off-layers-of-opposition-one-by-one-most/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. 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History allows us to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/both-of-these-positions-inevitability-and-eternity-are-antihistorical/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“As she observed, “the first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/as-she-observed-the-first-essential-step-on-the-road-to-total/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The first mode is the open hostility to verifiable reality, which takes the form of presenting inventions and lies as if they were facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-first-mode-is-the-open-hostility-to-verifiable-reality-which/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Once we subliminally accept that we are watching a reality show rather than thinking about real life, no image can actually hurt the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/once-we-subliminally-accept-that-we-are-watching-a-reality-show/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Confidence in duration is the antidote to panic and the tonic of demagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/confidence-in-duration-is-the-antidote-to-panic-and-the-tonic-of/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/be-calm-when-the-unthinkable-arrives-modern-tyranny-is-terror/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/life-is-political-not-because-the-world-cares-about-how-you-feel-but/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Explore all 339 Timothy Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If young people do not begin to make history, politicians and inevitability will destroy it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Snyder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-history-politicians-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-history-politicians-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/timothy-snyder-882_history_if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-his_1212169.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If young people do not begin to make history, politicians and inevitability will destroy it.” — Timothy Snyder", "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": "Timothy Snyder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If young people do not begin...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-history-politicians-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-young-people-do-not-begin-to-make-history-politicians-and/#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 } } ] } ```