Democracy Quotes
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Debate is almost non-existent and no one is apparently accountable to anybody apart from their political party bosses. It is bad news for democracy in this country.
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It's easy to lose a civilization. The values of Western civilization have brought so much good to the world: the notions of equality, democracy, tolerance, abolition of slavery... Tolkien knew that civilization is worth fighting for. There are times when a generation is challenged and must fight to defend their civilization from annihilation.
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Cultural pluralism is as important as political and multi- party pluralism. Religious, linguistic and cultural pluralism are vitally important hallmarks of a true democracy. We are against cultural hegemony of any sort. Diversity is a mark of a healthy democracy.
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Anybody who cares about the functioning of democracy should be concerned about the blurring of lines between public and private interests.
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You see in Turkey, they had a remarkable success story in building up a democracy. I was in Istanbul for most of the year 1950. That was the year when the government held free and fair election, was defeated and simply withdrew from power and handed it over to the opposition, without precedent in Middle Eastern history. That was a really remarkable time and it was a fascinating and rewarding experience to be there at that time.
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Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy.
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The risk of a terrorist victory is greater when in fighting terror, democracy betrays its own essence.
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We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I can tell you quite honestly.
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I don't want to get involved in Australian politics. You are a democracy, and Australian people should decide who they will vote for and I'm not mingling or interfering in that all.
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That just gives sort of the democracy an opportunity to test ideas, for those who lost to catch their breath, regain energy, re-energize themselves and then get back in the arena, and then we'll make some more progress in the future.
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The whole point of constitutional democracy is the peaceful transfer of power; of Al Gore passing the baton to George W. Bush, even though that election was very suspiciously called.
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Democracy passes into despotism.
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Vigorous independent and critical media are indispensable in a democracy.
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Every year, the White House Correspondents' Dinner inspires two competing varieties of coverage: celebrity-obsessed fawning and angry tirades about how it represents everything twisted about our broken democracy. It doesn't, really.
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Democracy does not have to be a bloodsport, it can be an honorable enterprise that advances the public interest.
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The United Nations has a critical role to play in promoting stability, security, democracy, human rights, and economic development. The UN is as relevant today as at any time in its history, but it needs reform.
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The origin of all power is in the people, and they have an incontestable right to check the creatures of their own creation.
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Many of the democratization projects are a real threat to real democracy.
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Democracy is always an unfinished experiment, testing the capacity of each generation to live freedom nobly.
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Democracy sometimes appears paralyzed by those who take advantage of its freedoms in order to abuse them for undemocratic ends.
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Europeans believe in democracy - or, at least, in republican government - but they have considered the alternatives, and continue to do so, and that scandalizes Americans.
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Democracy is a process.
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Talent and worth are the only eternal grounds of distinction. To these the Almighty has affixed His everlasting patent of nobility. Knowledge and goodness,--these make degrees in heaven, and they must be the graduating scale of a true democracy.
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Democracy is not a mere consequence, a certain stage in the development of society. It is the condition on which the survival of productive forces depends.
