“Of one man in especial, beyond anyone else, the citizens of a republic should beware, and that is of the man who appeals to them to support him on the ground that he is hostile to other citizens of the republic, that he will secure for those who elect him, in one shape or another, profit at the expense of other citizens of the republic. It makes no difference whether he appeals to class hatred or class interest, to religious or anti-religious prejudice. The man who makes such an appeal should always be presumed to make it for the sake of furthering his own interest.” MenShouldInterestDifferencesReligiousClassSupportHe ManCitizensShapesHatredPrejudiceSakeProfitSecureAppealsExpensesOne ManRepublicHostileAnti ReligiousReligious Prejudice Author:Theodore Roosevelt
“The real transgression occurs when religion wants government to tell citizens how to live uniquely personal parts of their lives. The failure of Prohibition proves the futility of such an attempt when a majority or even a substantial minority happens to disagree. Some questions may be inherently individual ones, or people may be sharply divided about whether they are. In such cases, like Prohibition and abortion, the proper role of religion is to appeal to the conscience of the individual, not the coercive power of the state.” PeopleWantMayRealStatesGovernmentHappensIndividualRolesCasesCitizensProveConscienceMajorityAppealsAbortionMinoritiesDividedDisagreeProhibitionFutilityTransgression Author:Edward Kennedy
“Tax reduction has an almost irresistible appeal to the politician, and it is no doubt also gratifying to the citizen. It means more dollars in his pocket, dollars that he can spend if inflation doesn't consume them first. But dollars in his pocket won't buy him clean streets or an adequate police force or good schools or clean air and water. Handing money back to the private sector in tax cuts and starving the public sector is a formula for producing richer and richer consumers in filthier and filthier communities. If we stick to that formula we shall end up in affluent misery.” IfsFirstsMeanEndsSchoolForceWaterCommunityDoubtCuttingAirStreetsCitizensPoliticianTaxesPoliceDollarsMiseryCleanSticksAppealsConsumersNo DoubtPocketsFormulasAdequateInflationStarvingIrresistibleReductionPrivate SectorTax CutsAffluentPolice ForcePublic SectorClean AirGood SchoolAir And Water Book:The Recovery of Confidence Source: The Recovery of Confidence
“I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government; and to redress wrongs already long enough endured.” LongEnoughGovernmentEffortExistenceCitizensHonorIntegrityUnionsAidsFavorsAppealsLoyalFacilitateRedress Book:Lincoln on Democracy Source: Lincoln on Democracy
“The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.” OpinionCitizensEvidenceAppealsInsultComplimentPublic OpinionLoanComebackPartisansImpositionGood Nature Book:Public Opinion Source: Public Opinion
“Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: 'What are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved?'” MayGovernmentAsksCommonMoralGenerationsCitizensAuthorityAppealsRequirementsDilemmaCommon GoodMoral Dilemma Author:Pope Benedict XVI