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Democracy Quotes

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Democracy Quotes

“The survival of democracy depends on the ability of large numbers of people to make realistic choices in the light of adequate information.”

People Light Choices Ability Numbers Democracy Information Depends Survival Realistic Adequate Large Numbers

Book:Selected essays

Source: Selected essays

“All deductions having been made, democracy has done less harm, and more good, than any other form of government. It gave to human existence a zest and camaraderie that outweighed its pitfalls and defects. It gave to thought and science and enterprise the freedom essential to their operation and growth. It broke down the walls of privilege and class, and in each generation it raised up ability from every rank and place.”

Source: The Lessons of History

“It is time to provide a smashing answer for those cynical men who say that a democracy cannot be honest, cannot be efficient.... We have in the darkest moments of our national trials retained our faith in our own ability to master our own destiny.”

Men Moments Ability Answers Destiny Democracy Honest Masters Trials Reform Being Honest Relief Cynical Efficient Smashing

Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt

“[D]emocracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable cruelty of one or a very few.”

“Those who applaud social production and networked amateurism, the colorful cacophony that is the Internet, and the creative capacities of everyday people to produce entertaining and enlightening things online, are right to marvel. There is amazing inventiveness, boundless talent and ability, and overwhelming generosity on display. Where they go wrong is thinking that the Internet is an egalitarian, let alone revolutionary, platform for our self-expression and development, that being able to shout into the digital torrent is adequate for democracy.”

Source: The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age

“I think democracy fails under a variety of conditions and one of the conditions occurs when people don't have the ability to get the kind of information they need to make up their mind. Ideologically, I don't care much for FOX News. But the truth is that, as long as there are countervailing points of view available on the spectrum, it doesn't matter.”

“You can offer the ability to citizens to choose from one of the two parties and elect their leaders as much as you want. But "democracy" is an illusion - a sham - if the most significant acts taken by those leaders are kept concealed from the citizenry.”

Ifs Want Two Ability Party Leader Democracy Taken Citizens Offers Illusion Significant Concealed Citizenry

Author:Glenn Greenwald

“The problem is that the things demanded by an empire, which is staying power, ruthlessness, the ability and the willingness to use its power around the world, it's something that democracies tend to be quite skeptical about.”

World Use Problem Ability Democracy Around The World Empires Staying Willingness Skeptical Ruthlessness Staying Power

Author:Mark Danner

“As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other billionaire families. These wealthy contributors can literally buy politicians and elections by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the candidates of their choice. We need to overturn Citizens United and move toward public funding of elections so that all candidates can run for office without being beholden to the wealthy and powerful.”

“The values that we talked about, the values democracy and free speech and international norms and rule of law, respecting the ability of other countries to determine their own destiny and preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity. Things are not something that we can set aside.”

Country Law Values Ability Destiny Democracy Integrity Speech International Determine Preserves Free Speech Other Countries Sovereignty Norm Rule Of Law Territorial

Author:Barack Obama

“In Europe, where the terrorist threat is probably greatest at the moment, the amount of information-sharing that's been taking place, the effectiveness of law enforcement across borders gives us the ability to protect ourselves while still being true to the basic precepts of our liberal democracies. I hope that that continues, and it is something that I think we should be worried about.”

“I think that our own crisis of democracy is in its own way affecting our ability to leverage in the same way that we used to in the world.”

Thinking World Way Used Ability Democracy Crisis

Author:John F. Kerry

“Mahatma Gandhi I would say had perhaps a greater spiritual quality whereas Winston Churchill had besides the courage, ability and above everything else, the ability to put into words what his people felt so that he could always lead them. And my own husband I think had great patience, which you need in a democracy because you have to come to do fundamental things, you have to have the patience to have people educated; and then I think he had a deep interest in human beings as human beings.”

People Thinking Needs Humans Spiritual Felt Interest My Own Human Beings Ability Quality Democracy Greater Husband Fundamentals Educated Great Patience

Author:Eleanor Roosevelt

“When the public loses faith in democracy's ability to solve the problems it has created for itself, the game's almost over. And I think we are this close to losing democracy to the mercenary class.”

Thinking Problem Games Loses Ability Class Democracy Losing Solve Mercenary Almost Over

Author:Bill Moyers