Best democracy & states Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 3

“America is the one place in the world where I just innately understood [that] South Africa and the United States of America have a very similar history. It's different timelines, but the directions we've taken and the consequences - dealing with the aftermath of what we consider to be democracy, and realizing that freedom is just the beginning of the conversation, that's something I've learned.”

“Well, we are Americans. I've always believed that you work with where you are - I am a Mormon woman who was raised on the edge of the Great Salt Lake in the American West in the United States of America. But, by the same token, much of my life has been spent resisting traditional forms of democracy, resisting traditional forms of orthodoxy, be it the United States government or the Mormon Church.”

“Under the leadership of this President, the state of the union is not strong. We are being pulled apart rather than pulling together. Our democracy is suffering from the choices being made, and yet we are offered the same tired excuses and unrealistic analyses.”

Made States Together Suffering Choices Strong President Leadership Democracy Tired Unions Excuse Analysis Pulling Not Strong Pulling Together

Author:Jose Serrano

“Civil rights, as we may remember, are reducible to three primary heads; the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property. In a state of slavery, the two last are wholly abolished, the person of the slave being at the absolute disposal of his master; and property, what he is incapable, in that state, either of acquiring, or holding, in his own use. Hence, it will appear how perfectly irreconcilable a state of slavery is to the principles of a democracy, which form the basis and foundation of our government.”

Source: A Dissertation on Slavery: With a Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of it in the State of Virginia

“We in the United States are very often - since we are a democracy and we have national interests, we've often made the mistake that a democracy has to adopt America's interests, and that is a contradiction because a democracy basically is people deciding what their interests are.”

People Made States America Interest United Mistake United States Democracy Contradiction Democracies Have National Interests

Author:George Soros

“There's a longstanding myth about the United States that is still very prevalent in Europe [despite recent developments]. Historically the "America" of this myth is an incredible human adventure and an experiment in political democracy. But at the same time, or so we're told, it's the land of extremes where the worst can happen.”

Humans Stills States Happens America Political United United States Democracy Land Worst Adventure Development Europe Incredibles Extremes Myth Experiments Despite

Author:Bruno Dumont

“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

“At no time, at no place in solemn convention assembled, through no chosen agents, had the American people officially proclaimed the United States to be a democracy. The Constitution did not contain the word or any word lending countenance to it.”

People States United United States Democracy Constitution Chosen Agents Conventions Solemn Countenance Lending

Author:Charles A. Beard

“Journalism is one of the devices whereby industrial autocracy keeps its control over political democracy; it is the day-by-day, between-elections propaganda, whereby the minds of the people are kept in a state of acquiescence, so that when the crisis of an election comes, they go to the polls and cast their ballots for either one of the two candidates of their exploiters.”

People Mind Two States Political Democracy Election Crisis Casts Journalism Propaganda Candidates Devices Polls Ballots Autocracy Acquiescence

Book:The Brass Check: A Study of American Journalism

Source: The Brass Check: A Study of American Journalism

“The US States are our laboratories of democracy.”

States Democracy Laboratory

Author:Louis D. Brandeis

“I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what [political philosopher] Sheldon Wolin has recently labeled a sort of inverted totalitarianism.”

States Political United Worry United States Democracy Philosopher Totalitarianism Inverted

Author:Thomas L. Dumm

“Democracy is the current industry standard political system, but unfortunately it is ill-suited for a libertarian state.”

States Political Democracy Industry Standards Ill Currents Libertarian Political Systems

Author:Patri Friedman

“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.”

“In the United States we have all across this country, we have dozens of Halakha courts, in which particularly observant Jews can take these issues of family law to an orthodox Court and have that judge, judge for them. As long as the courts don't violate the laws of the land and as long as there's a room for appeal should one or two parties disagree with the verdict, I don't see how this would have anything to do with being incompatible with what we refer to as Western ideas of democracy.”

Should Long Two Ideas Country States Law United Rooms Party United States Democracy Issues Land Judging Court Western Jew Appeals Orthodox Disagree Dozen Verdict Observant Family Law

Author:Mark Durie

“We want to lead by our values and out interests in ways that, regardless of the trajectory over the next decade, people will know the United States was on the side of democracy, on the side of the rule of law.”

People Knows Way Want States Law Values Next Sides Interest United United States Democracy Decades Rule Of Law Trajectory

Author:Hillary Clinton

“It would be easy to descend into despair, not only about the state of journalism, but the future of American democracy. But giving up is not an option. There is too much at stake.”

Giving States Would Be Easy Democracy Too Much Despair Giving Up Journalism Stakes Giving Up Is Not An Option American Democracy

Author:Laurie Garrett

“Far from being the product of a democratic revolution and of an opposition to English institutions, the constitution of the United States was the result of a powerful reaction against democracy, and in favor of the traditions of the mother country.”

“Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe because in the long run stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. ... The global wave of democracy has barely reached the Arab states. For too long, many people in that region have been victims and subjects. They deserve to be active citizens.”

“He (former President Gerald Ford) made it very clear that he did not agree with the reasons President Bush laid out for the war, namely the belief that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or that there was some obligation that the United States or the president had to expand democracy.”

“New Rule: The rest of the world can go back to being completely jealous of America. Our majority white country just freely elected a black president, something no other democracy has ever done. Take that Canada! Where's your nubian warrior president? Your head of state is a boring white dude named Steven Harper, and mine is a kick-ass black ninja named Barack Hussein Obama!”

Source: The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass

“Highly graduate taxation realizes most completely the supreme danger of democracy, creating a state of things in which one class imposes on another burdens which it is not asked to share, and impels the State into vast schemes of extravagance, under the belief that the whole costs will be thrown upon others.”

States Whole Belief Realizing Class Democracy Share Danger Cost Creating Burden Supreme Thrown Graduates Schemes Taxation Extravagance

Author:William Edward Hartpole Lecky

“If I rule out violent anarchism, there remains pacifist, anti-nationalist, anti-capitalist, moral, and anti-democratic anarchism (i.e., that which is hostile to the falsified democracy of bourgeois states). There remains the anarchism which acts by means of persuasion, by the creation of small groups and networks, denouncing falsehood and oppression, aiming at a true overturning of authorities of all kinds as people at the bottom speak and organize themselves.”

“Fascism is more of a natural state than democracy. To assume blithely that we can export democracy into any country we choose can serve paradoxically to encourage more fascism at home and abroad. Democracy is a state of grace that is attained only by those countries who have a host of individuals not only ready to enjoy freedom but to undergo the heavy labor of maintaining it.”

Country States Home Individual Enjoy Natural Democracy Grace Ready Labor Assuming Heavy Host Fascism Maintaining

Author:Norman Mailer

“The dynamic ideal we call democracy, gradually growing up in the human heart for two-thousand five hundred years, at least, has now every opportunity to found the natural democratic state in these United States of America by way of natural economic order and a natural, or organic, architecture.”

“In a normal democracy, you protect the individual from the excessive power of the state. In Turkey, power elites try to protect the state - as if this state were fragile and needed protection - when in fact, it's too powerful already.”

Ifs Trying States Facts Individual Powerful Democracy Needed Protect Normal Protection Fragile Elites Turkeys

Author:Elif Safak

“I think a lot it was the theology, that the road to Jerusalem runs through Baghdad, that somehow if we broke apart the rejectionist states, like Iraq, then the whole Middle East would reconfigure itself into a more favorable environment for democracy and Israel and us.”

Ifs Thinking States Whole Running Democracy Environment Middle Iraq Israel East Theology Broke Middle East Jerusalem Baghdad

Author:Chris Matthews

“There was great political uncertainty in South Asia at the time of the Buddha. The older small tribal societies were cracking up and gave way to bigger states. There was much more trade and travel going on than before. To people in the cities the experience of living in a small place where you knew everyone and governed your affairs by consensual democracy had been lost.”

People Way States Political Lost Cities Democracy Bigger Trade South Affair Uncertainty Asia Great Political South Asia Small Places Cracking Up

Author:Pankaj Mishra

“Most Arabs and Muslims feel that the United States hasn't really been paying much attention to their desires. They think it has been pursuing its policies for its own sake and not according to many of the principles that it claims are its own - democracy, self-determination, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, international law.”

“First of all, there's no separation of church and state in the Islamic world. They're one and the same. And so when President Bush or Senator Kerry or Prime Minister Blair says, "Look, adopt our secular democracy, look at how good we've done. We have a wonderful level of standard of living for our people," what many Muslims hear is, "Turn your back on God and follow what men say."”

“He [Louis Brandais] did believe in the states famously as laboratories of democracy, to use that resonant phrase that Tea Party and conservative libertarians have embraced today because he loves state experimentation.”

Believe States Use Today Party Democracy Conservative Libertarian Tea Phrases Laboratory Tea Party Experimentation

Author:Jeffrey Rosen

“If you had said to anyone in 1945, at the end of the Second World War with the continent it ruins, that you could have a European Union of 28 member states stretching from Portugal in the West to Estonia in the East, all of them more-or-less liberal democracies - they wouldn't have believed you.”

Ifs World Said War Ends States Democracy Members Unions West East Ruins War Of The Worlds Continents Stretching European Union Second World War Portugal Liberal Democracy Estonia

Author:Timothy Garton Ash

“"Democracy" means nothing else other than, "rule of the people", in Greek. There is nothing democratic about the political concepts of the United States and Europe.”

People Mean States Political United United States Democracy Concepts Europe Democratic Greek

Author:Andre Vltchek

“The majority of Arab people see the United States and Israel (definitely not Iran or Syria) as the greatest danger to the world. Could you imagine what the Arab people would do if true democracy (rule of the people) were to be victorious?”

People Ifs World States United United States Democracy Imagine Danger Majority Israel Iran Syria True Democracy

Author:Andre Vltchek

“I was previously involved in local and state politics, but not national, because grassroots democracy starts at the bottom. This was the breaking point for me, though - and it made the case that in order to fight locally, we have to fight nationally; we can't afford to neglect any area of life in this democracy.”

Made States Order Fighting Cases Democracy Involved Areas Bottom Locals Neglect Grassroots Point Break

Author:Jill Stein

“America is governed by rules of law, and those are not ones that the President of the United States or anybody else can just set aside for the sake of expediency Even when we are deeply supportive of Turkish democracy, and even when we care deeply about any attempts to overthrow their government or any other illegal actions, we've got to go through a legal process.”

States Government Care Action America Law Process President United United States Democracy Sake Illegal Supportive Rule Of Law Turkish Expediency

Author:Barack Obama

“I care deeply about women's rights. I have been an outspoken advocate for them for many years and as secretary of state I carried that message around the world because empowering women, providing for women's rights, their full participation in society, politics, the economy is not only a matter of individuals being able to chart their own futures. It's good for democracy and it's good for peace and prosperity.”

“How long has it taken the democratic process to develop in the United States? Since it was founded. So, do you think that as regards democracy everything is settled now in America? If this were so, there would be no Ferguson issue, right? There would be no other issues of similar kind, there would be no police abuse. Our goal is to see all these issues and respond to them timely and properly. The same applies to Russia. We also have a lot of problems.”

Ifs Thinking Kind Long States Problem Would Be America Process Goal United United States Democracy Issues Taken Abuse Police Regard Democratic Russia Timely Democratic Process Ferguson

Author:Vladimir Putin

“Look, there is parliamentary democracy in most European countries, there is parliamentary democracy in Japan, there is parliamentary democracy in many countries, but in the United States, for some reason, the State is organized differently, there is quite a stringent presidential republic.”

Looks Country States Reason United United States Democracy Presidential Organized Japan Republic European Countries Parliamentary Parliamentary Democracy

Author:Vladimir Putin

“The basic principles of democracy should be observed whatever the country - principles such as civil liberties, a free market, a free press, the priority of the individual over mythical state interests, a state which serves the interests of ordinary people and defends their rights and interests. This is all easy to say but hard to make reality.”

“Mexico has relied on television for decades to keep the citizens misinformed and in a constant state of stupor. I mean we live in a time where democracy is almost synonymous with oligarchy.”

Mean States Democracy Television Citizens Constant Decades Mexico Oligarchy

Author:Andrea Suarez Paz

“Citizens often think of a state's interests in terms of the promotion of ideals such as democracy, a particular way of life, or other values which they endorse or see as part of their historical continuity and identity. In this domain as in others values are not fixed, and so a state's interests are dynamic and in a constant state of negotiation and construction.”

Thinking Way States Values Term Interest Democracy Identity Particular Citizens Ideals Constant Historical Fixed Construction Negotiation Domain Promotion Continuity

Author:Dale Jamieson

“In the 19th century it was basically nationality and people trying to define their nationalism and create states which would reflect their nationalism. In the 20th century, ideology came to the fore, largely, but not exclusively, as a result of the Russian Revolution and we have fascism, communism and liberal democracy competing with each other. Well that's pretty much over.”

People Trying Wells States Results Democracy Century Revolution Ideology Communism Nationalism Fascism Competing 20th Century Nationality 19th Century Russian Revolution Liberal Democracy

Author:Samuel P. Huntington

“That is not respecting our democracy, using the State Department as a concierge for foreign donations, not really respecting our American democracy.”

States Democracy Department Donation American Democracy

Author:Kellyanne Conway

“This is a very difficult assignment for the United States, to hang in there and help this young democracy survive.”

States Helping Young Difficult United United States Democracy Assignments Hang In There

Author:George W. Bush

“I believe that democracy will prevail, so long as the United States stays with these young democracies to help them.”

Believe Long States Helping Young I Believe United United States Democracy

Author:George W. Bush

“The Bolshevik revolution was a counter-revolution. Its first moves were to destroy and eliminate every socialist tendency that had developed in the pre-revolutionary period. Their goal was as they said; it wasn't a big secret. They regarded the Soviet Union as sort a backwater. They were orthodox Marxists, expecting a revolution in Germany. They moved toward what they themselves called "state capitalism," then they moved on to Stalinism. They called it democracy and called it socialism. The one claim was as ludicrous as the other.”

“We could not bring democracy and freedom to Vietnam at a cost acceptable to ourselves. The idea that that was what we were trying to do, is again, a tautology, it's true by definition because we were doing, and the state is noble by definition. That's called "extreme liberalism".”

Trying Ideas States Democracy Cost Definitions Extremes Noble Liberalism Vietnam Acceptable Tautology

Author:Noam Chomsky

“I would say democracy once meant an organizational society and a state, in which the individual citizen is - feels - responsible, and acts responsibly, and participates in decision-making.”

Feels States Individual Decision Democracy Citizens Responsible Decision Making Organizational

Author:Erich Fromm

“I don't want to get too nuanced, but we have the electoral college in the United States and that means we don't have direct democracy.”

Want Mean States United United States Democracy College Direct Electoral College Direct Democracy

Author:Moby

“The principle, that should be a fundamental principle in our democracy, the principle of "one person, one vote," says that the vote of every American should count equally. And if it does, Hillary Clinton should be the president of the United States.”

Ifs Should Persons Doe States President United Principles United States Democracy Vote Fundamentals Clinton Fundamental Principles

Author:Lawrence Lessig

Democracy Quotes

Related topics

Democracy Quotes