#in

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is - infinite. ↗

— William Blake

#infinity #opportunity #perception #potential #truth

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. ↗

— Winston Churchill

#envy #equal #failure #gospel #ignorance

In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot. ↗

— Czesław Miłosz

#dissent #heroes #honesty #integrity #truth

[Lighting a cigarette] Well, I'm not here to impinge on anybody else's lifestyle. If I'm in a place where I know I'm going to harm somebody's health or somebody asks me to please not smoke, I just go outside and smoke. But I do resent the way the nonsmoking mentality has been imposed on the smoking minority. Because, first of all, in a democracy, minorities do have rights. And, second, the whole pitch about smoking has gone from being a health issue to a moral issue, and when they reduce something to a moral issue, it has no place in any kind of legislation, as far as I'm concerned. ↗

— Frank Zappa

#morality #rights #smoking #democracy

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. ↗

— H.L. Mencken

#elite #elitism #elitist #meritocracy #politics

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer. ↗

— Abraham Lincoln

#democracy #informed-decisions #democracy

Democracy is four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. ↗

— Ambrose Bierce

#democracy

I wish I could say when Michael's dark eyes met mind, I was completely cool and collected about seeing him again after all this time, and that I laughed airily and said all the right things. I wish I could say after having pretty much single-handedly brought democracy to a country I happen to be a princess of, and written a four-hundred-page romance novel, and gotten into every college to which I applied (even if it's just because I'm a princess), that I handled meeting Michael for the first time again after throwing my snowflake necklace in his face almost two years ago with total grace and aplomb. But I totally didn't. ↗

— Meg Cabot

#princess #democracy

In a democracy, someone who fails to get elected to office can always console himself with the thought that there was something not quite fair about it. ↗

— Thucydides

#elections #fairness #losing #office #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