#democracy

We have had a long wait for democracy. ↗

— Chen Shui-bian

#had #long #wait

Democracy still has a real hope and chance in Iraq, and true freedom in this country would be the greatest testament to those who gave their lives for it. ↗

— Mary Landrieu

#country #democracy #freedom #gave #greatest

Democracy encourages the majority to decide things about which the majority is ignorant. ↗

— John Simon

#decide #democracy #encourages #ignorant #majority

I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society. ↗

— George Soros

#america #because #chose #civil #civil liberties

In a democracy everybody has a right to be represented, including the jerks. ↗

— Chris Patten

#everybody #including #jerks #represented #right

Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#choose #democracy #get #man #people

[The Internet] affects democracy... As more and more citizens express what they think, and defend it in writing, that will change the way people understand public issues. It is easy to be wrong and misguided in your head. It is harder when the product of your mind can be criticized by others. Of course, it is a rare human who admits that he has been persuaded that he is wrong. But it is even rarer for a human to ignore when he has been proven wrong. The writing of ideas, arguments, and criticism improves democracy. ↗

— Lawrence Lessig

#ideas #internet #open-government #writing #change

Congress is functioning the way the Founding Fathers intended-not very well. They understood that if you move too quickly, our democracy will be less responsible to the majority. ↗

— Barber Conable

#democracy #fathers #founding #founding fathers #functioning

If political rights are necessary to set social rights in place, social rights are indispensable to make political rights 'real' and keep them in operation. The two rights need each other for their survival; that survival can only be their joint achievement. ↗

— Zygmunt Bauman

#social #social-rights #age

I like it too," Angelo said. "I love this country. Much you and anybody, and you know it." "I know it," Prew said. "But I still hate this country. You love the Army. But I dont love the Army. This country's Army is why I hate this country. What did this country ever do for me? Gimme a right to vote for men I cant elect? You can have it. Gimme a right to work at a job I hate? You can have that too. Then tell I'm a Citizen of the greatest richest country on earth, if I dont believe it look at Park Avenue. Carnival prizes. All carnival prizes. [..] They shouldnt teach their immigrants' kids all about democracy unless they mean to let them have a little bit of it, it ony makes for trouble. Me and the United States is dissociating our alliance as of right now, until the United States can find time to read its own textbooks a little." Prew thought, a little sickly, of the little book, The Man Without A Country that his mother used to read to him so often, and how the stern patriotic judge condemned the man to live on a warship where no one could ever mention home to him the rest of his whole life, and how he had always felt that pinpoint of pleased righteous anger at seeing the traitor get what he deserved. ↗

— James Jones

#democracy #immigrants #patriotism #propaganda #the-american-dream