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Democracy Quotes

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Democracy Quotes

“The stories from Iran's present and past are reminders that freedom, democracy and human rights, or fundamentalism, fascism and terrorism are not geographically and culturally determined, but universal.”

Humans Stories Past Democracy Rights Universal Human Rights Terrorism Determined Iran Fascism Fundamentalism Reminders Democracy And Human Rights

Author:Azar Nafisi

“Nobody should be allowed to tinker with democracy. We will not discontinue the good works of the past government.”

Should Government Past Democracy Good Work

Author:Manmohan Singh

“It is obvious that the fascist mass pestilence, with its background of thousands of years, cannot be mastered with social measures corresponding to the past three hundred years. The discovery of the natural biological work democracy in international human intercourse is the answer to fascism. This will be no less true even if not one of the living sex-economists, orgone biophysicists or work democrats should live to see its general functioning and its victory over the irrationalism in social life.”

“Our faith in democracy, personal freedoms and human 'rights', and the other comforting prescriptions of the humanist liberal credo stem from the supremacy of maritime over territorial power. Pragmatists may deplore this as crude determinism, as another vain attempt to construct a general theory of history. They should reflect on the sort of political philosophy and structures we might now adhere to had the Habsburgs, Bourbons, Bonaparte, Hitler, Stalin or his heirs prevailed in the titanic world struggles of the past four centuries.”

Source: Maritime Supremacy & the Opening of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns that Shaped the Modern World

“The seasick passenger on an ocean liner detests the good sailor who stalks past him 265 times a day grandly smoking a large, greasy cigar. In precisely the same way the democrat hates the man who is having a better time in the world. This is the origin of democracy. It is also the origin of Puritanism.”

Men World Way Past Hate Democracy He Man Ocean Democrat Smoking Sailor Passengers Stalking Cigar Puritanism

Author:H. L. Mencken

“In Latin America, in the past, it was almost impossible to guarantee democracy. There were military dictatorships, and nowadays there are not so many military dictatorships. Although we have a dictator in Honduras, as a result of a coup, now as a president, he is almost the only one I would say. But again led or managed, gestated by the U.S. government.”

Government America Past President Results Democracy Impossible Military Guarantees Latin Dictatorship Dictator Latin America Coups Honduras

Author:Evo Morales

“It is past time for the U.S. government to fully fulfill our moral obligation to those who have fought for freedom and democracy.”

Government Past Moral Democracy Obligation Moral Obligation

Author:Tim Ryan

“The role of campaign contributions in our political system and the role of lobbyists have now reached levels that are quite unhealthy for the operations of our democracy. But the antidote, as in past eras of lobbyist excess, is for more involvement by citizens to build pressure on members of the House and Senate to serve the public interest.”

“It's coming to America first, The cradle of the best and of the worst. It's here they got the range And the machinery for change And it's here they got the spiritual thirst. It's here the family's broken And it's here the lonely say That the heart has got to open In a fundamental way: Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. O mighty Ship of State! To the Shores of Need Past the Reefs of Greed Through the Squalls of Hate Sail on, sail on.”

Source: The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen: Enhanced Edition

“It's symbolic of how I feel, with cameras on every street corner. Being watched all the time, having my sense of freedom invaded. Privacy is an important thing, and it has been eroded over the past few years. Now they're talking about body scans at airports. Democracy becomes a sham the second you have to give way to authorities who can do any kind of search that they want with you.”

“And for those of us who have, you know, looked in sort of the established order of the political fray over the course of the past several years, it looks like chaos. But to the people I think it looks like democracy. And I think that that's something that really is moving us to a new reality, where the parties are going to have to retrofit themselves and adapt to this new realignment.”

People Thinking Knows Years Looks Reality Past Moving Political Order Courses Party Democracy Chaos Fray

Author:Ben Domenech

“Social democracy does not represent an ideal future; it does not even represent the ideal past.”

Doe Past Social Democracy Ideals Social Democracy

Book:Ill Fares the Land

Source: Ill Fares the Land

“It would be a huge mistake to abandon democracy promotion. Peaceful political change has been enormously successful in the past years in Eastern European countries as well as in countries like South Korea, South Africa, Chile and Indonesia. However, if possible, the use of force is something to avoid except in cases where genocide is threatened, like Bosnia or Libya or with regimes that threaten our security, like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.”

“Two significant developments in the past several decades have been the collapse of communism as an ideology and the general acceptance, in rhetoric, if not practice, of liberal democracy.”

Ifs Has Beens Two Past Practice Democracy Acceptance Development Decades Significant Ideology Communism Collapse Rhetoric Liberal Democracy

Author:Samuel P. Huntington

“South Africa has faced many problems in the past. You would understand those problems if you understood the history of the struggle to get rid of Apartheid and the struggle to establish democracy.”

Ifs Problem Past Struggle Democracy Understood South South Africa Apartheid

Author:Thabo Mbeki

“It is quite difficult to establish a clear-cut cause-and-effect relationship, as the causes are manifold and closely connected. It is simply not correct to link the level of democracy to prosperity. It is absolutely clear that the economic wealth of Saudi Arabia exceeds the performance of the Czech Republic. But apparently democracy is quite stable in the Czech Republic, which cannot be said about Saudi Arabia. As we delve into the past, we must not forget about the existing model of society.”