QuoteProject
If there's a world here in a hundred years, it's going to be saved by tens of millions of little things. The powers-that-be can break up any big thing they want. They can corrupt it or co-opt it from the inside, or they can attack it from the outside. But what are they going to do about 10 million little things? They break up two of them, and three more like them spring up!
Pete Seeger
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Small actions can lead to significant changes in the world, even against larger forces.

This quote by Pete Seeger emphasizes the power of collective individual actions in effecting change. While larger entities may have the ability to suppress or undermine significant movements, the resilience and proliferation of many small efforts can ultimately lead to lasting transformation and impact. Seeger's perspective encourages individuals to participate actively in meaningful actions, as they can accumulate and create a powerful force for good.

Themes

ChangeActionEmpowermentResilienceCollective

In practice

Example use cases

In a climate change conference, this quote can inspire participants to recognize the impact of grassroots initiatives.

More from Pete Seeger

Long live teachers of children, because they can show children how they can save the world.
Pete SeegerRead
According to my definition of God, I'm not an atheist. Because I think God is everything. Whenever I open my eyes, I'm looking at God. Whenever I'm listening to something, I'm listening to God.
Pete SeegerRead
Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.
Pete SeegerRead
Well, normally I’m against big things. I think the world is going to be saved by millions of small things. Too many things can go wrong when they get big.” — Pete Seeger (on how he felt about attending his big 90th birthday bash last year)
Pete SeegerRead
I’ve never sung anywhere without giving the people listening to me a chance to join in - as a kid, as a lefty, as a man touring the U.S.A. and the world, as an oldster. I guess it’s kind of a religion with me. Participation. That’s what’s going to save the human race.
Pete SeegerRead
I write a song because I want to. I think the moment you start writing it to make money, you're starting to kill yourself artistically.
Pete SeegerRead

Similar quotes

I wanted to go to Washington to bring people together who had never been together before. I wanted to break down the barriers between races.
Edward BrookeRead
The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.
William J. ClintonRead
Costs are incurred whenever any group is treated as lesser or the other, whether they are women, racial, or religious minorities, or the LGBT.
Hillary ClintonRead
It felt like I'd been living underground, and for a moment, I'd been given this glimpse of the sky. Once you've seen that, how can you go back where you came from?
Jodi PicoultRead
Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.
C. S. LewisRead
The international community spends much more time and resources managing crises than preventing them. But TV cameras are seldom there when a conflict is avoided, so it is difficult for governments and international organizations to make prevention a priority.
Antonio GuterresRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.