#de

The widespread abuse of prisoners is a virtually foolproof indication that politicians are trying to impose a system--whether political, religious or economic--that is rejected by large numbers of the people they are ruling. Just as ecologists define ecosystems by the presence of certain "indicator species" of plants and birds, torture is an indicator species of a regime that is engaged in a deeply anti-democratic project, even if that regime happens to have come to power through elections. ↗

— Naomi Klein

#democracy

Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. ↗

— Reinhold Niebuhr

#democracy #inclination #injustice #justice #makes

Between death and hell a bridge shining silver wings offers his soul hope. ↗

— Aberjhani

#angels-and-demons #bridges #death #depression #desperation

Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else. ↗

— Albert Einstein

#independent-thought #reading #independence

I am unaware of his plans but I shall never stop believing in them because I cannot fathom them and I prefer to mistrust my own intellectual capacities than his justice. ↗

— Alexis de Tocqueville

#democracy

No, there are no special places in hell. Hell is a democracy. ↗

— Mike Carey

#lucifer #democracy

When you read, don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think ↗

— Tom Schulman

#john-keating #tom-schulman #authority

It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority. ↗

— Benjamin Franklin

#duty #independent-thought #independence

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. ↗