* Democracy doesn't recognize east or west; democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself. -- Shirin Ebadi

* To win the war on terror, we must preserve our moral authority to lead the world. If we are to succeed in spreading democracy abroad, we must defend the fundamental principles of democracy at home. -- John Edwards

* … we believe in the vocation of communion and participation of our people, who day to day awaken to their political conscience and express their desire for change and profound democratization of society. A change based on justice, built with love, and which will bring us the most anxiously desired fruits of peace. -- Adolfo Perez Esquivel

* I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong. -- Mohandas K. Gandhi To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness. -- Mohandas Gandhi In true democracy every man and women is taught to think for himself or herself. -- Mohandas Gandhi The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular. -- Mohandas Gandhi

The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within. -- Mohandas Gandhi

"What does it matter to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"
-- Mohandas Gandhi

* "You cannot bring democracy to a country by attacking it." ~ Akbar Ganji When there is a crisis, the first thing that gets damaged and gets harmed is democracy. ~ Akbar Ganji * The modern infrastructures that exists in the world all contribute to the advancement of human rights and democracy. ~ Akbar Ganji

* Ultimately, I believe -- because energy is so central to our lives -- that a common global project to rewire the world with clean energy could be the first step on a path to global peace and global democracy -- even in today's deeply troubled world. -- Ross Gelbspan

"The citizens of Love Canal provided an example of how a blue-collar community with few resources can win against great odds (a multi-billion-dollar international corporation and an unresponsive government), using the power of the people in our democratic system." ~ Lois Gibbs

"The freedom and human capacities of individuals must be developed to their maximum but individual powers must be linked to democracy in the sense that social betterment must be the necessary consequence of individual flourishing."
-- Henry Giroux

* The media is absolutely essential to the functioning of a democracy. It's not our job to cozy up to power. We're supposed to be the check and balance on government. -- Amy Goodman

* Freedom means to build a democratic system enshrined with the respect for fundamental rights of Man, of the human being, of the individuals. -- Xanana Gusmão

Think of the millions of young men who died fighting for democracy. We spit on their graves when we let democracy slip away into the sewer of illegal money." -- Doris Haddock (Granny D)

We should know that only replacing the economics of competition and greed with the economics of equitable cooperation will guarantee a globalization that takes advantage of potential efficiency gains in ways that also promote environmental protection, international equity, economic democracy, and variety.
-- Robin Hahnel

We should insist that governments receiving American aid live up to standards of accountability and transparency, and we should support countries that embrace market reforms, democracy, and the rule of law.
-- Lee H. Hamilton

“We need to be activating deep democracy because democracy is fleeting through our fingers, and most people are unaware of it. Democracy is about dispersing power among the interconnected people. As a people, we need to rise to the level of forcing our leaders to abide by our stated principles - really exercise democracy, not only on our behalf but on behalf of the world. We need to continue, as part and parcel of the American experience created by the founding forefathers, and now the foremothers, to insist, "We want democracy to work, and that means every voice counts."
-- Dr. Azizah al-Hibri

Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.
-- Abbie Hoffman

"If you look back in history, you will find the core mission of public education in America was to create places of civic virtue for our children and for our society. As education undergoes the rigors of re-examination and the need for reinvention, it is cruicial to remember that the key role of public schools is to preserve democracy and, that as battered as we might be, our mission is central to the future of this county."
-- Paul D. Houston, Executive director of the American Association of School Administrators

"A generation that acquires knowledge without ever understanding how that knowledge can benefit the community is a generation that is not learning what it means to be citizens in a democracy."
-- Elizabeth L. Hollander (1817-1885)

 

* We can enhance democracy by making it in line with its original vision. Read the dollar bill - E pluribus unum, out of many, one; novus ordo seclorum, a new order of the ages. That's democracy. -- Barbara Marx Hubbard

"America is a country ready to be taken—in fact, longing to be taken—by political leaders ready to restore democracy and trust to the political process." -- Arianna Huffington

* I swear to the Lord I still can't see Why Democracy means Everybody but me. -- Langston Hughes

* "Full democracy requires the full participation of women. Your voices are vital. The word 'vital' means necessary for life. A democracy, to be fully alive, must include all its citizens." -- Swanee Hunt

* The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment. -- Robert Maynard Hutchins

* “All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important not to let any one person or small group have too much power for too long a time” ~ Aldous Huxley

* The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion. -- Molly Ivins

* Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy. -- Jesse Jackson

* Since an informed citizenry is the basis for a healthy democracy, independent, non-corporate media are more crucial today than ever before -- Dahr Jamail

* “All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” -- Thomas Jefferson I know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but people. And if we think them not enlightened enough, the remedy is not to take the power from them, but to inform them by education. -- Thomas Jefferson

It is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.
-- Thomas Jefferson

 

Democracy Quotes

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Democracy Day - October 18

 

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