Failure is not a crime. The crime is not trying.
So here comes this black guy from the Bay Area talking about peace, feminism, challenging racism, challenging the priorities of the country, and talking about preserving the fragile nature of our ecological system. People looked at me as if I was a freak.
The very foundation of our nation's economy is predicated on the health, growth, and vitality of our local communities.
The government ought to be in the business of delivering health, education, housing, and basic services to people without a lot of game playing. There ought to be comprehensive childcare, a comprehensive approach to housing, a sane, rational way to finance education. But I also strongly believe in the notion of fundamental individual freedom.
If being an advocate of peace, justice, and humanity toward all human beings is radical, then I'm glad to be called radical. And if it is radical to oppose the use of 70 percent of federal monies for destruction and war, then I am a radical.
Detroit's financial challenges - the decline of the American auto industry, the impact of the global economic recession, declining population, and an erosion of the municipal tax base - are key to understanding what led this great city to an inability to provide basic city services or to carry out the normal functions of a municipality.
I have been a lot of 'firsts' on the national political stage, including the first African American congressman from the Bay Area and one of the first Democratic Socialists in Congress.
The Democratic Party has been my party over 50 years, where I waged my battle to change America and change the world from its progressive wing.
If I wanted to be a celebrity, I would have taken guitar lessons.
I was part of the peace movement and part of the civil rights movement. You know what we heard? 'The majority of people don't support you.'
I think democratic socialism will ultimately prevail in this country because it makes an enormous amount of sense.
The government should not do everything for everybody all the time, but it should provide basic services to everyone who needs them. Education ought not be contingent on income or where you live. Neither should health.