“I'm sort of always trying to reinvent and recreate a better way of being, because, you know, democracy has been "the worst of all political systems except for all the rest." So I think we have a lot of room to grow and be a better society, and it's a constant battle. It's an exciting opportunity to be active.” ThinkingKnowsWayTryingHas BeensPoliticalOpportunityGrowsRoomsDemocracyWorstBattleExcitingConstantActiveAlways TryingBetter WaysPolitical SystemsDemocracies Have Author:Adrian Grenier
“I don't like the current political system in the USA and some other countries. Increasingly democracy has been hijacked by corporate interests.” Has BeensCountryPoliticalInterestDemocracyCurrentsCorporateUsaOther CountriesPolitical SystemsDemocracies Have Author:Neil Young
“Its [Dreams from My Father] also a reflection about how we might start a better conversation in our democracy about how to solve problems, because it feels as if our political system - it just seems there is so much cynicism and negativity in our politics.” IfsFeelsProblemDreamSeemsMightPoliticalFatherDemocracyConversationReflectionSolveCynicismNegativityPolitical SystemsDreams From My Father Author:Barack Obama
“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.” IfsYearsWellsHas BeensCountryUseWould BePastPoliticalForceMistakeCasesDemocracySuccessfulSecurityHugeSouthPeacefulAbandonGenocideRegimesSouth AfricaThreatenedSaddamEasternHusseinPromotionKoreaIndonesiaTalibanLibyaChileEuropean CountriesBosniaUse Of ForceSouth KoreaPolitical Change Author:Paul Wolfowitz
“The billionaires and their super PACs increasingly control the American political process. This is not democracy. This is not what brave Americans fought and died to defend. This is oligarchy. This is government of the few, by the few and for the few. We must overturn Citizen United and move to public funding of elections.” GovernmentMovingPoliticalProcessUnitedDemocracyCitizensDiedElectionBraveFundingBillionaireOligarchyPacsCitizens United Author:Bernie Sanders
“It's this mingling of the economic and political elite which is really destroying our democracy.” PoliticalDemocracyEconomicDestroyingElitesMingling Author:Jill Stein
“In the words of Louis Brandeis, the Supreme Court justice, we have a choice between a democracy or vast concentrations of wealth. We have vast concentrations of wealth which has bought its way into our democracy with its political leaders who exemplify the merger of that economic and political elite.” WayPoliticalChoicesWealthJusticeLeaderDemocracyEconomicCourtSupremeConcentrationElitesSupreme CourtPolitical LeadersMergersSupreme Court JusticeCourt JusticeLouis BrandeisConcentration Of Wealth Author:Jill Stein
“People are always asking, "Is this person in front of me the same on the inside as he or she appears to be on the outside? Is there congruence between what's within that person and the words and actions I'm viewing and hearing externally?" Children ask that about their parents; students ask it about their teachers; parishioners ask it about their pastors and priests; employees ask it about their bosses; and in a democracy, citizens ask it about their political leaders.” PeopleChildrenPersonsActionPoliticalAsksParentLeaderDemocracyTeacherFrontsStudentsCitizensAskingHearingEmployeePriestsBossPastorPolitical LeadersWords And ActionsCongruence Author:Parker J. Palmer
“For some reason when it comes to democracy, we seem to think that political knowledge doesn't make any kind of difference or we shouldn't say that it does, like it would hurt people's feelings.” PeopleThinkingKindDoeReasonFeelingsSeemsPoliticalDifferencesHurtDemocracy Author:Jason Brennan
“The US two party system is very different, of course. Here the people decides about who should rule them, but it is not reasonable to claim that the people rules itself through the political institutions. In comparison, I find that the standard European system is better, also as a model for global democracy.” PeopleShouldTwoDifferentPoliticalCoursesPartyDemocracyModelsStandardsClaimsInstitutionsReasonableComparisonPolitical InstitutionsTwo Party System Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo
“Part of what we have to do a better job of, if our democracy is to function in a complicated diverse society like this, is to teach our kids enough critical thinking to be able to sort out what is true and what is false, what is contestable and what is incontestable. And we seem to have trouble with that. And our political system doesn't help.” IfsThinkingEnoughHelpingSeemsKidsAbleJobsPoliticalTeachDemocracyTroubleFunctionComplicatedCriticalDiverseCritical ThinkingPolitical SystemsBetter JobsDiverse Society Author:Barack Obama
“The word 'charismatic' was made for Fidel Castro. You would have liked him, I would have liked him. Then you had to stop and say, 'Just a minute. This is a man who does not believe in freedom of the press...does not believe in democracy as we know democracy, had political prisoners.'” KnowsMenBelieveDoeMadePoliticalDemocracyMinutesPressesPrisonerFreedom Of The PressCharismaticCastroPolitical Prisoners Author:Barbara Walters
“Can any of you seriously say the Bill of Rights could get through Congress today? It wouldn't even get out of committee.” GovernmentTodayPoliticalLibertyDemocracyRightsConstitutionBillsCongressLibertarianUsaAmendmentsLibertarianismCommitteesBill Of Rights Author:F. Lee Bailey
“Different political views, even if they're all liberal, in the sense of supporting liberal constitutional democracy, undoubtedly have some notion of the common good in the form of the means provided to assure that people can make use of their liberties, and the like.” PeopleIfsMeanDifferentUseFormPoliticalViewsCommonLibertyDemocracyNotionCommon GoodPolitical View Book:Collected Papers Source: Collected Papers
“I did not suggest that Iran is a democracy; just the opposite. I talked about it being a repressive theocracy. What I think is indisputable is that even within this repressive regime, the political leaders there - including the Supreme Leader - are sensitive to the concerns of the population within bounds.” ThinkingPoliticalLeaderDemocracyConcernOppositesBoundsIncludingPopulationSupremeSensitiveIranRegimesPolitical LeadersTheocracy Author:Barack Obama
“Take the US. Women were not even able to vote until 90 ago, at about the same time they gained the right in Afghanistan. Rights of former slaves were very limited until the 1960s, and in some ways still are. In these and other domains there has been progress in democracy, though still seriously flawed. In other dimensions - the control of concentrated wealth over the political process, for example, things have gotten much worse in recent years. And there is much more, in both directions.” WayYearsHas BeensStillsAblePoliticalProcessWealthDemocracyRightsProgressExampleVoteSlaveFormerDimensionsAfghanistanDomainFlawed1960s Author:Noam Chomsky
“When considering the Islamic world, Turkey is the best example of a country where democracy irreversibly gained a foothold despite religious and cultural traditions still respected today. With some reservation, this can be said about Pakistan, too, where we can observe dynamic political processes going on [and] governments change as a result of elections. In my opinion, it is up to the ruling elite to initiate cardinal changes.” WorldSaidStillsCountryGovernmentTodayPoliticalProcessReligiousResultsOpinionDemocracyExampleTraditionElectionDespiteIslamicElitesConsideringPakistanRulingTurkeysCardinalsReservationsInitiate Author:Garry Kasparov
“Political stability was at most a factor in assessing developing countries or Russia. It is now also an issue in Western democracies.” CountryPoliticalDemocracyIssuesWesternRussiaFactorsDevelopingStabilityDeveloping CountriesAssessing Author:Nicholas Bloom
“Islamism implies some sort of political and social plan for Muslim people. In that classification, we find different categories. Legalist ones, traditional ones and revolutionary ones. Some of them are revolutionary but are non-violent, others are extremely violent. There are also the ones we call the literalists, like the Egyptian party Hizb al-Nour that used to be against democracy and now is getting into the political game.” PeopleDifferentPoliticalUsedGamesSocialPartyDemocracyPlansViolentTraditionalUsed To BeRevolutionaryAlsCategoriesEgyptianClassificationNon ViolentPolitical Games Author:Tariq Ramadan
“The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.” MeanLawPoliticalDecisionDemocracyJudgingWindIndependentRule Of LawJudiciaryBedrockIndependent Judiciary Author:Caroline Kennedy
“Fox News and Rush Limbaugh have raised ignorance to ideology and stupefied an entire political party. No more roguish and rowdy band of predators ever did more to demean and despoil the democracy on whose carcass they feed.” PoliticalPartyDemocracyIgnoranceBandNewsRaisedIdeologyFoxesPolitical PartiesPredatorFox NewsRowdy Author:Bill Moyers
“Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy. Deceit is a poison in its veins.” PoliticalLyingDemocracyIntegrityPoisonDeceitVeinsHype Author:Edward Kennedy