Democracy Quotes

"How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order is imagined" "We have a Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities" "We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties" "Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America." "The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois" "Liberty of any kind is never lost all at once." "Democracy for an insignificant minority, democracy for the rich—that is the democracy of capitalist society" "Freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure" "Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame" "I think the government must govern as the citizens allow it to govern." "The strengthening of our statehood is at times deliberately interpreted as authoritarianism." "Where annual elections end where slavery begins" "Suffrage is the pivotal right" "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty" "For more than 200 years, our democracy has been distinguished by the peaceful transfer of power" "In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival." "No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation" "I've always believed America is a place that prepares a person to stand up, speak out and be heard" "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people" "Poverty in democracy is as much to be preferred to so-called prosperity under despots, as freedom to slavery."