1) Democracy is “government of, by and for the people”. -Abraham Lincoln
2) The people who own the country ought to govern it. -John Kay
3) A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy. -Theodore Roosevelt
4) There cannot be daily democracy without daily citizenship. -Ralph Nader
5) Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing. -Archibald MacLeish
6) The lesson of history is clear: democracy always wins in the end. -Marjorie Kelly
7) It is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail. -Thomas Jefferson
8 ) I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong. -Mohandas Gandhi
9) The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual. -Edward Bellamy
10) In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, the will of the majority is supreme. -Aristotle
11) Democracy is not the law of the majority but protection of the minority. -Albert Camus
12) In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility. -Norman Cousins
13) Democracy is not just a question of having a vote. It consists of strengthening each citizen’s possibility and capacity to participate in the deliberations involved in life in society. -Fernando Cardoso
14) The road to democracy may be winding and is like a river taking many curves, but eventually the river will reach the ocean. – Chen Shui-bian
15) Democracy is not so much a form of government as a set of principles. -Woodrow Wilson
Since the 4th of July is over now, how did you spend your time? What did you do to celebrate?
While we’re at it, do you have any democracy quotes of your own to share? Which one’s above did you like the most?
As always, please share your answers to these questions in the comments section below.
Thanks!
Shawn
PS: did you know Canada’s birthday was on July 1st? We just had Wednesday off work and we spent the day at a family member’s cottage in Bancroft (2.5 hours north east of Toronto). Today, we were at our friend’s cottage up in Fenelon Falls which is about 2 hours NE of Toronto; awesome place. I’m a bit sunburned.
PPS: any other country’s birthdays I’ve missed?
As always, I enjoy reading the quotes and inspirations you post. Although I don’t always comment on them, please know I DO read them! And, ocassionally, I save them and use them, too!
Thanks Marcia,
I enjoy your comments, so keep ’em coming. I’m glad to know you’re always around close-by.
Shawn
This is the famous quotation of John F. Kennedy.
“Do not ask what the Government can do to you but ask what you can do to the Government.”
Just found this while looking for democracy quotes and had to stick my nose in.
While I love the paraphrasing an the new meaning, just in case anyone is interested in the actual quote it is: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Life is always a two-way street – giving and receiving – not just giving or not just receiving.
I like 4 and 8! thx!
Democracy is fast becoming a fraudulent subject; for it to survive it must become unethical and there is the road of self destruction. A democracy can only survive in an educated environment; an environment in which its people have compassion and a large dose of liberality. Only then can democracy stand the vigor’s and onslaught of fundamentalism.
Take care and keep the force.
Robert
plz cud u offer some quotes on democracy empowerment over corruption
The words are : “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Our nation is not a democracy, but a Constitutional Republic. Our founders went out of their way to PREVENT democracy in order to avoid the tyranny of the majority. Your quote in #1 is a correct quote, but Lincoln was not referring to democracy. The word democracy isn’t even in the Gettysburg Address. If you read any of his other speeches you will find that he was a HUGE supporter of the founders who believed that democracy will destroy a nation but a republic that limits both the government and the governed is the best form of government to protect the rights of the majority and the minority. Direct democracy destroyed Greece and representative democracy destroyed Rome. Tyranny of the majority always leads to anarchy and then oligarchy.