“We must think of human progress, not as of something going on in the race in general, but as something going on in a small minority, perpetually beleaguered in a few walled towns. Now and then the horde of barbarians outside breaks through, and we have an armed effort to halt the process. That is, we have a Reformation, a French Revolution, a war for democracy, a Great Awakening. The minority is decimated and driven to cover. But a few survive- and a few are enough to carry on.” ThinkingHumansWarEnoughProcessEffortRaceBreakDemocracyProgressSocietyRevolutionTownsDrivenAwakeningMinoritiesNow And ThenReformationHaltBarbariansBreak ThroughFrench RevolutionHuman ProgressHorde Author:H. L. Mencken
“We must face the bitter fact that we have forsaken our great dream of a life of, for, and by the people; that the burning passions and ideals of the American dream lie congealed by cold cynicism. Great parts of the masses of our people no longer believe that they have a voice or a hand in shaping the destiny of this nation. They have not forsaken democracy because of any desire or positive action of their own; they have been driven down into the depths of a great despair born of frustration, hopelessness, and apathy. A democracy lacking in popular participation dies of paralysis.” PeopleBelieveHas BeensFactsDreamHandsActionAmericaFacesLyingDesireDiesPassionNationsVoiceBornDestinyDemocracyColdDespairMassIdealsDepthDrivenBitterBurningFrustrationApathyCynicismAmerican DreamLackingParticipationHopelessnessParalysisForsakenBurning Passion Author:Saul Alinsky
“Corporations are a good thing. But corporations should not be running our government... They have driven the American economy since its founding, and the prosperity of our country is largely dependent on the free operation of corporations. But some corporations don't want free markets, and they don't want democracy. They want profits.” WantShouldCountryGovernmentRunningEconomyDemocracyGood ThingsProfitProsperityDrivenOur CountryCorporationsOperationsDependentFoundingFree MarketAmerican Economy Author:Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“Democracy encourages a taste for physical gratification; this taste, if it becomes excessive, soon disposes men to believe that all is matter only; and materialism, in its turn, hurries them on with mad impatience to these same delights; such is the fatal circle within which democratic nations are driven round. It were well that they should see the danger and hold back.” IfsMenShouldBelieveWellsMatterTurnsNationsDemocracyDangerTasteMadDemocraticRoundsDelightDrivenCirclesMaterialismConsumerismGratificationImpatienceOverconsumption Book:Democracy in America - Vol. I. and II. Source: Democracy in America - Vol. I. and II.
“Putting it in plain terms, the general public must be reduced to its traditional apathy and obedience, and driven from the arena of political debate and action, if democracy is to survive.” IfsActionPoliticalTermDemocracyDrivenDebateTraditionalObedienceApathyArenaGeneral PublicPolitical Debates Book:Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies Source: Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies