“When free discussion is denied, hardening of the arteries of democracy has set in, free institutions are but a lifeless form, and the death of the republic is at hand.” HandsFormDemocracyInstitutionsDiscussionRepublicDeniedDemocracies HaveLifelessArteries Author:William Randolph Hearst
“We owe to democracy, at least in part, the regime of discussion with which we live; we owe it to the principal modern liberties: those of thought, press and association. And the regime of free discussion is the only one which permits the ruling class to renew itself... which eliminates that class quasi-automatically when it no longer corresponds to the interests of the country.” CountryInterestLibertyClassDemocracyModernSpeechPressesDiscussionPermitAssociationRegimesPrincipalRuling Author:Gaetano Mosca
“For the mass of men the idea of artistic creation can only be expressed by an idea unpopular in present discussions - the idea of property... Property is merely the art of the democracy... One would think, to hear people talk, that the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers were on the side of property. But obviously they are the enemies of property; because they are enemies of their own limitations.” PeopleThinkingMenArtIdeasPoliticsSidesEnemyEconomyDemocracyCreationMassPropertyArtisticLimitationDiscussionLiberalismArtistic Creation Author:Gilbert K. Chesterton
“Democracy is one person, one vote and a full discussion of the issues that affect us. Oligarchy is billionaires buying elections, voter suppression and a concentrated corporate media determining what we see, hear and read.” PersonsDemocracyIssuesMediaVoteElectionCorporateDiscussionBuyingVotersBillionaireSuppressionOligarchyVoter Suppression Author:Bernie Sanders
“[James] Madison pointed out in the discussion of the constitutional debates - the constitutional convention - that democracy would be a danger. He used England of course as the model and said suppose that in England everyone had the free right to vote; the poor, the propertyless - who are the great majority - would use their voting power to take away the rights of property owners to carry out what we would call land reform.” SaidUseWould BeUsedCoursesPoorDemocracyRightsLandDangerModelsVoteEnglandMajorityPropertyDebateReformDiscussionVotingOwnersConventionsRight To VoteMadisonConstitutional Convention Author:Noam Chomsky
“But rather than trying to understand and rise above them, as leaders should, the [presedential] campaigns have often simply channeled these negative emotions. This has made the substance and tone of much of the discussion not only unpleasant and uninspiring, but the acrimony and divisiveness are not healthy for our democracy.” ShouldTryingMadeEmotionLeaderDemocracyHealthyNegativeCampaignsSubstanceDiscussionToneRise AboveNegative EmotionsDivisivenessUninspiringAcrimony Author:John I. Jenkins
“It's time to use the antitrust laws and to break up this conglomerate corporate media that has now poisoned our democracy to the point that our very survival is at risk for the kinds of monstrosities that are flourishing in our corporate media dominated discussion.” KindUseLawBreakDemocracyRiskMediaSurvivalCorporateDiscussionFlourishingMonstrosityAntitrustAntitrust Laws Author:Jill Stein