“We live in the age of "Everything Has Rights." Now, I'm not denying that the concept of rights is valid, but I wonder whatever happened to obligations? One rarely hears the term anymore. Indeed, have you ever heard of a "human obligations movement?" The very ideal that holds a democracy together--the willingness to make personal sacrifice for the common good--is going quickly by the wayside.” HumansAgeTogetherTermCommonResponsibilityWonderDemocracyRightsHappenedHeardSacrificeMovementConceptsIdealsObligationWillingnessCommon GoodPersonal Sacrifice Author:John Rosemond
“Reagan's story of freedom superficially alludes to the Founding Fathers, but its substance comes from the Gilded Age, devised by apologists for the robber barons. It is posed abstractly as the freedom of the individual from government control a Jeffersonian ideal at the roots of our Bill of Rights, to be sure. But what it meant in politics a century later, and still means today, is the freedom to accumulate wealth without social or democratic responsibilities and license to buy the political system right out from everyone else.” MeanStillsStoriesGovernmentAgeTodayPoliticalFatherIndividualSocialWealthResponsibilityRightsCenturyIdealsRootsBillsDemocraticSubstanceFoundingLicensePolitical SystemsBill Of RightsRobbersGildedGilded AgeRobber Baron Author:Bill Moyers
“I have already indicated to you the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth is that Islam is not a Church. It is a State conceived as a contractual organism long before Rousseau ever thought of such a thing, and animated by an ethical ideal which regards man not as an earth-rooted creature, defined by this or that portion of the earth, but as a spiritual being understood in terms of a social mechanism, and possessing rights and duties as a living factor in that mechanism.” MenLongStatesEarthSpiritualSocialTermChurchRightsDutyTruth IsCreaturesUnderstoodIdealsRegardIslamFactorsDefinedEthicalMechanismPortionsRootedOrganismsAnimatedPossessingSpiritual BeingsRights And Duties Author:Muhammad Iqbal
“The democratic ideal springs from the ideas of liberty, equality, majority rule through free elections, protection of the rights of minorities, and freedom to subscribe to multiple loyalties in matters of religion, economics, and politics rather than to a total loyalty to the state. The spirit of democracy is the idea of importance and worth in the individual, and faith in the kind of world where the individual can achieve as much of his potential as possible.” WorldKindIdeasMatterStatesSpiritIndividualLibertyDemocracyRightsAchieveSpringIdealsEconomicsImportanceElectionMajorityDemocraticProtectionLoyaltyMinoritiesMultipleRules For RadicalsMajority RuleFree ElectionsDemocratic Ideals Book:Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals Source: Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
“The ideal of perfect Success is an ideal belonging to the same sort of individual as the inventor of Equal Rights of man and Perfectibility.” MenIndividualPerfectRightsEqualIdealsBelongingEqual RightsInventor Book:Tarr Source: Tarr
“One of the greatest disasters that happened to modern civilization was for democracy to inscribe "liberty" on its banners instead of "justice." Because "liberty" was considered the ideal it was not long until some men interpreted it as meaning "freedom from justice"; then when religion and decent government attempted to bring them back to justice, organized into "freedom groups" they protested that their constitutional and natural rights were being violated.” MenLongWisdomGovernmentPoliticsNaturalJusticeLibertyEconomyDemocracyRightsHappenedGroupsModernCivilizationIdealsDisasterOrganizedDecentLiberalismBannerNatural RightsModern Civilization Author:Fulton J. Sheen
“All of us in this country give lip service to the ideals set forth in the Bill of Rights and emphasized by every additional amendment, and yet when war is stirring in the world, many of us are ready to curtail our civil liberties. We do not stop to think that curtailing these liberties may in the end bring us a greater danger than the danger we are trying to avert.” ThinkingWorldGivingTryingMayWarEndsCountryLibertyGreaterRightsDangerReadyIdealsBillsLipsCivil RightsAmendmentsStirringCivil LibertiesBill Of RightsAvertLip Service Author:Eleanor Roosevelt
“It is the West that has liberated women, racial minorities, religious minorities, and gays and lesbians, recognizing and defending their rights. The notions of freedom and human rights were present at the dawn of Western civilization, as ideals at least, but have gradually come to fruition through supreme acts of self-criticism.” HumansSelfReligiousRightsCivilizationGayIdealsCriticismWestWesternNotionHuman RightsSupremeDawnMinoritiesRecognizingLiberatedWestern CivilizationFruitionSelf CriticismLiberated Woman Author:Ibn Warraq
“Human rights rest on human dignity. The dignity of man is an ideal worth fighting for and worth dying for.” MenHumansFightingRightsDyingIdealsDignityHuman RightsHuman DignityWorth Fighting For Author:Robert C. Maynard
“If we in Asia want to speak credibly for Asian values, we must be prepared to also champion those ideals which are universal and belong to humanity as a whole...It is altogether shameful, if ingenious, to cite 'Asian values' as an excuse for autocratic practices and the denial of basic rights and civil liberties.” IfsWantWholeValuesHumanitySpeakLibertyPracticeRightsIdealsUniversalPreparedExcuseDenialChampionBe PreparedAsiaAsianShamefulCivil LibertiesIngeniousCitingBasic Rights Author:Anwar Ibrahim
“Sometimes I feel I have more faith in European ideals than some of my British or French friends. For them, it's a financial burden. For me, Europe is primarily about values, about fundamental rights, freedom, women's rights.” FeelsSometimesValuesRightsEuropeIdealsFundamentalsFinancialBurdenBritishWomens RightsFundamental RightsFinancial Burden Author:Elif Safak
“If we want the freedom to take part in our bit of differentness, then we must allow others their rights to take part in theirs, as long as they do not harm the person or property of a non-consenting other, of course. IT'S JUST common sense. It's also constitutional and it forms the cornerstone of the American ideal: free individual expression, tolerance and compassion.” IfsWantPersonsLongFormCoursesIndividualBitsCommonCompassionRightsExpressionIdealsPropertyHarmToleranceCommon SenseCornerstonesIndividual Expression Author:Peter McWilliams
“Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.” MenWorldGivingStillsLightLawFatherRightsImagineGenerationsBloodIdealsSakeFoundingPerilRule Of LawOur Founding FathersCharterInaugurationInaugural AddressExpedience Author:Barack Obama