“What modernity requires is not that you cease living according to your faith, but that you accept that others may differ and that therefore politics requires a form of discourse that is reasonable and accessible to believer and non-believer alike. This religious restraint in politics is critical to the maintenance of liberal democracy.” MayFormReligiousAcceptingDemocracyCriticalBelieverCeaseReasonableRestraintDiscourseModernityMaintenanceNon BelieverLiberal Democracy Author:Andrew Sullivan
“Look at all of the great strengths of America: entrepreneurialship, work ethic, natural resources, a democracy, a transparency, a willingness to be critical. Around the world, they look at us, and they say, "Why are you criticizing yourself? Why are you people arguing during the political process to elect a president or somebody else?" That's the great strength of this country.” PeopleWorldLooksCountryAmericaPoliticalProcessPresidentNaturalDemocracyEthicsResourcesCriticalArguingAround The WorldWillingnessCriticizeWork EthicTransparencyNatural Resources Author:Michael Bloomberg
“You can make peace with an enemy, if the enemy abandons the idea of destroying you. That is the critical test. Democracies fail to understand what I just said.” IfsIdeasEnemyDemocracyFailingTestsCriticalAbandonDestroyingMaking PeaceDestroying You Author:Benjamin Netanyahu
“Schools need not preach political doctrine to defend democracy. If they shape men capable of critical thought and trained in social attitudes, that is all that is necessary.” IfsMenNeedsSchoolPoliticalSocialEducationAttitudeDemocracyShapesCapableCriticalDoctrine Author:Albert Einstein
“Our culture is at a critical cusp - a time that requires that we define what it means to be a citizen in a democracy. Within our nation we need to foster a greater sense of collective responsibility.” NeedsMeanCultureNationsResponsibilityDemocracyGreaterInternetCitizensCriticalCollectivesFree SpeechCuspCollective Responsibility Author:Robert Neelly Bellah
“The Germans should be the first to sympathize with us [Egyptians]. They know how difficult it is to build a democracy following a dictatorship, and they were the first to be critical of Morsi's anti-democratic policies.” KnowsShouldFirstsDifficultKnow HowDemocracyPolicyDemocraticFollowingCriticalDictatorship Author:Mohamed ElBaradei
“If you've got on the one hand death, dogmatism, domination, and on the other you've got desire in the face of death, dialogue in the face of dogmatism, democracy in the face of domination, then philosophy itself becomes a critical disposition of wrestling with desire in the face of death, wrestling with dialogue in the face of dogmatism, and wrestling with democracy, trying to keep alive a very fragile democratic experiment.” IfsTryingPhilosophyHandsFacesDesireDemocracyAliveDemocraticCriticalExperimentsDialogueWrestlingFragileDispositionDominationDogmatism Author:Cornel West
“People who thought that she was busy going around trying to stir up difficulty where there was none or less than she imagined, were quite critical of her. She was, we must never forget, a public figure. And in democracies, public figures tend to attract criticism as well as praise. The most dangerous thing would be if anybody were regarded as above criticism. And Eleanor Roosevelt is, in recent years, getting there.” PeopleIfsTryingYearsWellsWould BeForgetDemocracyDangerousFiguresCriticismDifficultyPraiseBusyCriticalNever ForgetDangerous ThingsEleanorPublic Figures Author:William A. Rusher
“My start in politics was watching my parents go to the polls on election day. It reminded me that being an active, engaged citizen and voter is critical to the success of our democracy.” ParentDemocracyCitizensElectionCriticalActiveEngagedVotersPollsElection Day Author:Josh Earnest
“In an election like this one [in 2016], not only are voters dissatisfied, but where the foundations of our economy, our democracy, our ecosystem, and international war and peace are really crumbling and are really at grave risk for failing in many ways, we need desperately to have an honest public conversation about both the track record of where we've been, what are the critical problems we are facing and what it will take to solve them.” WayNeedsWarProblemEconomyDemocracyRecordsFailingRiskHonestConversationElectionFoundationInternationalTrackSolveCriticalGravesVotersEcosystemsDissatisfiedCrumblingTrack Record Author:Jill Stein
“Part of what we have to do a better job of, if our democracy is to function in a complicated diverse society like this, is to teach our kids enough critical thinking to be able to sort out what is true and what is false, what is contestable and what is incontestable. And we seem to have trouble with that. And our political system doesn't help.” IfsThinkingEnoughHelpingSeemsKidsAbleJobsPoliticalTeachDemocracyTroubleFunctionComplicatedCriticalDiverseCritical ThinkingPolitical SystemsBetter JobsDiverse Society Author:Barack Obama