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Democracy Quotes

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Democracy Quotes

“The founders understood that democracy would inevitably evolve into a system of legalized plunder unless the plundered were given numerous escape routes and constitutional protections such as the separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, election of senators by state legislators, the electoral college, no income taxation, most governmental functions performed at the state and local levels, and myriad other constitutional limitations on the powers of the central government.”

“That's what this democracy was for us, a huge supermarket of mass man where we could take a piece here and a piece there to make our personalities for ourselves instead of putting up with what was given at the beginning.”

Men Opportunity Given Democracy Pieces Huge Personality Mass Supermarkets

Book:What's this cat's story?: the best of Seymour Krim

Source: What's this cat's story?: the best of Seymour Krim

“Democracy, like liberty, justice and other social and political rights, is not "given", it is earned through courage, resolution and sacrifice.”

Political Given Social Justice Liberty Democracy Rights Sacrifice Resolution Political Rights

Book:Freedom from Fear: And Other Writings

Source: Freedom from Fear: And Other Writings

“When the Founders thought of democracy, they saw democracy in the political sphere - a sphere strictly limited by the Constitution's well-defined and enumerated powers given the federal government. Substituting democratic decision making for what should be private decision making is nothing less than tyranny dressed up.”

Should Wells Government Political Given Decision Democracy Saws Constitution Democratic Tyranny Defined Decision Making Spheres Founders Federal Government Dressed Up

Author:Walter E. Williams

“I just am a believer...that there are some things that happen for a reason...We may not be able to really discern it now...[but] given the perspective of time, I think we're going to be able to look back at this, and what seemed really bad at the time may turn out to be really good.”

Thinking Looks May Reason Happens Able Turns Politics Given Party Democracy Perspective Believer Ideology Tea Tea Party Happens For A Reason

Author:Eric Cantor

“Rosa Luxemburg was - still is for me - a great personal and intellectual heroine. Her analysis of Leninism and capitalism and social democracy are all worth reading. I wouldn't consider anyone truly politically literate if they hadn't given her work at least some study.”

Ifs Stills Reading Given Social Democracy Study Intellectual Capitalism Analysis Heroines Rosa Worth Reading Great Person Social Democracy

Author:Christopher Hitchens

“The United States has given frequent and enthusiastic support to the overthrow of democracy in favor of "investor friendly" regimes. The World Bank, IMF, and private banks have consistently lavished huge sums on terror regimes, following their displacement of democratic governments, and a number of quantitative studies have shown a systematic positive relationship between U.S. and IMF / World Bank aid to countries and their violations of human rights.”

“Certainly, if we believe in democracy and democratic systems, when [Benazir Bhutto] failed to pass any legislation, really, at all in her first two years in government during her first term and in fact had a tenure that was marked not only by gross corruption but by human rights abuses, that should have been a time for people to say, "Well, OK, we've given you an opportunity and you haven't bettered the institutions, you haven't strengthened the democratic cause - we may not vote you back."”

“Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is - so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group.”

Men Given Animal Democracy Groups Theory Equal Assumption Mathematician Maximum Peasants Wisest Wisest Man Additives

Book:Glory Road

Source: Glory Road

“We all have a large stake in preserving our democracy, but I maintain that those without power in our society, the black, the brown, the poor of all colors, have the largest stake not because we have the most to lose, but because we have worked the hardest, and given the most, for what we have achieved.”

Given Black Loses Poor Democracy Color Hardest Brown Our Society Stakes

Author:Charles Rangel

“Our ultimate weapon is not our guns but our beliefs ... Ours are not Western values. They are the universal values of the human spirit and anywhere, any time, ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same. Freedom not tyranny. Democracy not dictatorship. The rule of law not the rule of the secret police. The spread of freedom is the best security for the free. It is our last line of defence and our first line of attack.”

“Where freedom of religion has been attacked, the attack has come from sources opposed to democracy. Where democracy has been overthrown, the spirit of free worship has disappeared. And where religion and democracy have vanished, good faith and reason in international affairs have given way to strident ambition and brute force.”

Source: The Essential Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“I stand on the shoulders of giants that have gone before me, in terms of affording people like myself, women, the access to democracy, the vote, medical treatment, education, everything that I've been given. It's all been earned. Therefore I feel it's incumbent on me personally to just contribute something, to add to a collective voice that needs to be here right now, to build it up to a tipping point, to make the world aware that women's rights still have to be addressed and that the word 'feminism' has been devalued and needs to be reclaimed.”

“I stand on the shoulders of giants that have gone before me, in terms of affording people like myself, women, the access to democracy, the vote, medical treatment, education, everything that I've been given. It's all been earned.”

People Given Term Gone Democracy Vote Access Medical Shoulders Giants Treatment Medical Treatment Affording

Author:Annie Lennox

“Julian Assange shouldn't be the subject of a grand jury hearing, he should be given a medal. He's contributing to democracy.”

Should Given Democracy Subjects Hearing Medal Jury Contributing Grand Jury Assange

Author:Noam Chomsky

“You are sitting here defending an assault on American democracy. Somebody probably said nice things about anybody at a given point. This is an unprecedented event that was done at the behest of the House Republicans that was leaked to the press by the House Republicans.”

Said Done House Given Democracy Nice Events Republican Sitting Presses Assault Unprecedented Nice Things American Democracy

Author:James Carville