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Democracy Quotes

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Democracy Quotes

“For Singapore, its test for its own democracy must be whether it fit and serve the interests of its people and conditions, and not serve some abstract ideal that the Western media thought it ought to conform to. If in 10 years, Philippines, Taiwan and Korea were better societies because they adopted the US model, Singapore would hurry to catch.”

People Ifs Years Interest Democracy Conditions Media Ought Fit Models Ideals Tests Western Abstract Conform Adopted Korea Singapore Philippines Taiwan Western Media

Author:Goh Chok Tong

“I think it is absolutely essential in a democracy to have competition in the media, a lot of competition, and we seem to be moving away from that.”

Thinking Seems Moving Democracy Media Essentials Competition Moving Away Voting And Democracy

Author:Walter Cronkite

“The unanimously applauded, self-congratulatory bromides of a Soviet Party Congress seemed contemptible. The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted by American officials and media commentators in recent days seems, well, unworthy of a mature democracy.”

Wells Self Reality Seems Party Democracy Media Congress Officials Mature Soviet Rhetoric Unworthy Commentators Concealing Unanimity Sanctimonious

Book:At the Same Time: Essays and Speeches

Source: At the Same Time: Essays and Speeches

“Because we don't have a Fairness Doctrine, and because we have further media consolidation, and because we have a craptastic corporate media, WE DON'T HAVE NEWS! We don't have an informed populous and we don't have a democracy... Everyone in the world knows that America, (in its current state, because of right-wingers) that the right wing arm of this country (that speaks for this country unfortunately) has no credibility when it comes to human rights or independent media.”

“Who should regulate the media? Who should control the press? The commentariat agonises, as if the choice was between state control through some autocratic press law or a new Press Complaints Commission redecorated with false teeth. But there is another way. Let journalists regulate themselves.... Let's have a little democracy in the media. Even in the Murdoch papers, the number of journalists who are irretrievably lawless and callous is quite small. Most of the disasters at the News of the World happened because its editors treated their staff in the style of Muammar Gaddafi.”

“Mass democracy, mass morality and the mass media thrive independently of the individual, who joins them only at the cost of at least a partial perversion of his instincts and insights. He pays for his social ease with what used to be called his soul - his discriminations, his uniqueness, his psychic energy, his self.”

Source: The Savage God: A Study of Suicide

“Majorities can be wrong, majorities can overrule rights of minorities. If majorities ruled, we could still have slavery. 80% of the population once enslaved 20% of the population. While run by majority rule that is ok. That is very flawed notion of what democracy is. Democracy has to take into account several things - proportionate requirements of people, not just needs of the majority, but also needs of the minority. Majority, especially in societies where the media manipulates public opinion, can be totally wrong and evil. People have to act according to conscience and not by majority vote.”

“An independent and free media is essential to ensure democracy.”

Democracy Media Essentials Independent

Author:Warren Christopher

“There is no more important struggle for American democracy than ensuring a diverse, independent and free media. Free Press is at the heart of that struggle.”

Heart Important Struggle Democracy Media Independent Presses Diverse Free Press American Democracy

Author:Bill Moyers

“A profound transformation is happening here. The framers of our nation never envisioned these huge media giants; never imagined what could happen if big government, big publishing and big broadcasters ever saw eye-to-eye in putting the public's need for news second to their own interests. I approach the end of my own long run believing more strongly than ever that the quality of journalism and the quality of democracy are inextricably joined ... .”

“Social media changed Chinese mindset. More and more Chinese intend to embrace freedom of speech and human rights as their birthright, not some imported American privilege. But also, it gave the Chinese a national public sphere for people to, it's like a training of their citizenship, preparing for future democracy.”

“I do believe that the collapse of the traditional media is catastrophic for our democracy, but I wasn't about to mythologize it. I understand its structural flaws, and the lies it tells, which are primarily, but not always, the lies of omission, and I wasn't going to leave that out. Knopf offered to publish the book but they said that an editor was going to "take out all the negativity," which, of course, I wasn't going to accept. I had been paid half my advance, and I had Nation Books buy the manuscript for that half.”

Believe Said Book Lying Courses Nations Half Accepting Democracy Media Paid Traditional Flaws Editors Collapse Negativity They Said Publish Manuscripts Omission

Author:Chris Hedges

“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.”

Persons Democracy Issues Media Vote Election Corporate Discussion Buying Voters Billionaire Suppression Oligarchy Voter Suppression

Author:Bernie Sanders

“In many ways, the media today makes dictatorship impossible. But it also makes democracy intolerable.”

Way Today Democracy Impossible Media Dictatorship Media Today

Author:Shimon Peres

“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.”

Kind Use Law Break Democracy Risk Media Survival Corporate Discussion Flourishing Monstrosity Antitrust Antitrust Laws

Author:Jill Stein