Quotes from “Always looking up” - “Politics” Chapter

“As frustrated as we in the patient community are with impediments to progress put in place by George W. Bush, so too are you frustrated that we, the proponents, just don’t get it, that we’re missing the bigger picture. In that way, we two can empathize with each other, while not agreeing. This is why I brought into the political arena my concerns and my hopes that this work can produce cures and treatments, not to shame or ridicule those who disagree with me, and not to use the bully pulpit of celebrity to drown out anyone else’s voice. The opposite is true. What we want is a conversation. The only way for government to express the needs and desires of Americans is if Americans speak up and get involved. And as much as I want to make my own points, to express my own needs and desires, I know it’s crucial that differing opinions be given equal hearing.” (Page 77)

“Incurable disease is a nonpartisan problem that will require a bipartisan solution. The desire to alleviate suffering and save lives speaks not to our allegiance to any party or ideology but to our humanity.” (Page 79)

“The answer lies somewhere between faith and hope, between seeking change through a petition of God and seeking it through an exercise of political franchise.” (Page 81)

“It doesn’t happen to anybody for a reason. Sometimes bad things happen, but it’s how you deal with those things that matters.” (Page 83)

(Quoting Christopher Reeve) “Before a catastrophe, we can’t imagine coping with the burdens that might confront us in a dire moment. Then when that moment arrives, we suddenly find that we have resources inside us that we knew nothing about.” (Page 86)

(Quoting Christopher Reeve) ““Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool, or you go out in the ocean.” I tried toe-dipping, wading, treading, a few tentative strokes, and then, as if unconsciously following Chris’s advice, I found myself in some very deep, very rough water. Funny, Chris didn’t mention the sharks.” (Page 91)

(Quoting Christopher Reeve) “President Kennedy based his hopes on knowledge, and the projection of where that knowledge can take us. (...) NASA pulled off what only years earlier was sci-fi, in part, due to “a willingness not to buy into the conventional wisdom.” (Page 111)

“The foundation is about promoting and financing advances in Parkinson’s research, first, foremost, fully, and finally. Any politics needed to be on my own time, at my own expense, and under my own name.” (Page 112)

“Choosing to invest time, energy, and identity in the political process is an expression of hope. If something in our personal experience has informed or inspired us to believe that one direction or outcome is preferable to another, for not only the individual, but society as a whole, we put that belief into action through activism, advocacy, financial support of a candidate, actually running for office, or by simply casting a vote. The American political experience can therefore be viewed as optimism in the collective. Naturally, unanimity is rare, as reasonable (and not so reasonable) people are bound to disagree. Take it form me, things get a little intense when the swords come out and all you’re holding is a plowshare.” (Page 127)