Quotes from Madeleine K. Albright

First, he often endorses actions by foreign leaders that weaken democratic institutions.

Robert Frost: "Now when I am old my teachers are the young.

A second source of blurriness in Trump's vision is that it offers no incentive for friendship. If every nation is focused entirely on gaining an edge over every other, there can be no trust, no special relationships, no reward for helpfulness, and no penalty for cynicism—because cynicism is all we promise and all we expect.

This is the first rule of deception: repeated often enough, almost any statement, story, or smear can start to sound plausible.

To a small "d" democrat, process matters more than ideology. The fairness of an election is more important than who wins. There is not, on most questions of policy, a single democratic answer. Concerns arise only when leaders try to augment their power through means that could cause permanent damage to democratic institutions.

It is important to remember that actions taken today depend largely on expectations about the future.

I fear a return to the international climate that prevailed in the 1920s and '30s, when the United States withdrew from the global stage and countries everywhere pursued what they perceived to be their own interests without regard to larger and more enduring goals.

whole countries lived behind barbed wire, and governments insisted that down was up and black was white.

The institute is but one program, of modest size, at a single college. It isn't going to transform civilization or save it. However, by preparing young women for central roles in unraveling the mysteries of tomorrow, it is a contributor of value. That is all we can claim, and it is enough.

Maduro is burly and has a trim mustache. What he doesn't have is enough wit, charm, or oil riches to fill the boots of Chávez

Strach z komunismu zplodil fašismus.

Zeman a BabiÅ¡ jsou spojenci. PÃ…â"¢eji své zemi vÅ¡echno dobré.

Where in the past I could assume that the U.S. government would put its foot down on the side of democratic institutions and values, Trump's foot has been fully engaged in kicking America's allies, the independent press, federal prosecutors, immigrant families, and the notion—stressed to most children at an early age—that facts matter.

believe we can recognize truth when we see it, just not at first and not without ever relenting in our efforts to learn more.

Rather than think critically, we seek out people who share our opinions and who encourage us to ridicule the ideas of those whose convictions and perspectives clash with our own. At many levels, contempt has become a defining characteristic of American politics. It makes us unwilling to listen to what others say—unwilling, in some cases, even to allow them to speak.

MUSSOLINI OBSERVED THAT IN SEEKING TO ACCUMULATE POWER, it is wise to do so in the manner of one plucking a chicken—feather by feather—so each squawk is heard apart from every other and the whole process is kept as muted as possible.

Were they humble? No. They were, in their own minds, human skyscrapers, fragrant with testosterone; backslapping, hand-crunching, sports-talking deal makers who spoke a language alien to me and, while swearing imaginatively at one another, often giggled like kids.

Every step in the direction of Fascism—every plucked feather—causes damage to individuals and to society; each makes the next step shorter. To hold the line, we must recognize that despots rarely reveal their intentions and that leaders who begin well frequently become more authoritarian the longer they hold power.

the description of myself that I like best is that of problem-solver, or doer.

Speaking in town squares, beer halls, and circus tents, Hitler employed over and over again the same action verbs—smash, destroy, annihilate, kill. In a typical address, he would shout himself into a lather of arm-flailing, screaming fury at the nation's enemies, only to grow abruptly calm as he painted a word picture of what a new era of German ascendance might look like.

The story of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia holds lessons that still need absorbing. Good guys don't always win, especially when they are divided and less determined than their adversaries. The desire for liberty may be ingrained in every human breast, but so is the potential for complacency, confusion, and cowardice. And losing has a price.

Unlike a monarchy or a military dictatorship imposed on society from above, Fascism draws energy from men and women who are upset because of a lost war, a lost job, a memory of humiliation, or a sense that their country is in steep decline.

we all tend to live in media and information bubbles that reinforce our grievances instead of causing us to look at difficult questions from many sides. Rather than think critically, we seek out people who share our opinions and who encourage us to ridicule ideas of those whose convictions and perspectives clash with our own.

When a dictator abuses his authority, there is no legal way to stop him. When a free society falters, we still have the ability—through open debate and the selection of new leaders—to remedy those shortcomings. We still have time to pick a better egg. That is democracy's comparative advantage, and it should be recognized and preserved.