Quotes About Democracy

Sometimes the results of a first free election will find the moderates so poorly organized that extreme groups can eke out a victory, as Hamas did when it gained a 44-to-41 percent margin in the Palestinian election of 2006.

The United Kingdom has committed the heresy of breaking the chains of the E.U. This is a signal victory for democracy. It is a slap in the face to the European system which was increasingly based on fear, blackmail, and lies.

Let me appeal to the consciences of many silent, responsible citizens of the white community who know that a victory for democracy in Jackson will be a victory for democracy everywhere.

The next time you download a book on Kindle, buy a Michael Moore screed at Barnes & Noble, or order up a political movie from video on demand, remember that it is the Supreme Court's decision in 'Citizens United' that guarantees you the right to do so.

My father told me about American democracy. And he said you have to be actively engaged in the political process to make our democracy work. So I've been doing that my entire life. Civil rights movement. The peace movement during the Vietnam conflict. The movement to get an apology and redress for Japanese-Americans.

Like in any relations between two countries in the world, Vietnam and the U.S. have differences on a number of issues such as perception on democracy, human rights and trade.

What some people argue is that Vietnam stands for the proposition that there's no role for American power anywhere on earth. I don't believe that's the case at all. I think we're the strongest force for democracy and for stability on earth, and we must have a strong capacity to perform that role.

Vietnam's Communist Party is one-party rule but we also have principles of democracy and accountability of the leaders. Otherwise the faults would be blamed on the entire group and merits would be credited to the individual.

If the war has faded into history, democracy's defeat in Vietnam has left deep marks in the consciousness of both nations.

When you have a democratically elected president of Iran you don't topple him for the Shah. You don't help topple Arbenz in Guatemala. You don't do what we did in Vietnam, etc.

Since 1945, no one in the U.S. military has liked the end result of the military conflicts we've been in: Vietnam, Korea, certainly Iraq, and probably Afghanistan. But in a democracy, you salute.

My message to the Turkish people is never to view any military intervention positively because through military intervention, democracy cannot be achieved.

In a well-functioning democracy, people frequently encounter topics and points of view that they did not specifically select but from which they learn. Those encounters can change minds and, even, the course of lives.

The view that we hold in Iraq now is this - that democracy is associated with elections. I believe that elections are possible.

It would be a mistake to view Camacho as the beacon of democracy in Mexico. He has played by the PRI's rules for more than 15 years. As mayor of Mexico City, he was recognized as a political broker, not as an apostle of substantive political reform.

neither the postmodern conception of the transnational nor the liberal assumption of the congruence of capitalism, democracy, and freedom are currently adequate to address the ubiquity and variety of alternatives.

Civil debate is a healthy and democratic process. If one cannot make one's point without yelling, name-calling, or insulting others, one should develop a stronger argument before speaking further.

If voting changed anything they'd abolish it.

This is the reality if you take a stand against the government in Iran.' He looked me in the eye. 'Would you take that risk?' It was a difficult question. I liked to think I was the kind of person who would make a stand, but it was easy for me to say, coming from a democratic country with its unarmed policemen and the reassuring notion of habeas corpus enshrined in law. Taking a stand in Iran was a life or death decision.

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the party that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.

The generation you consult will be more democratic and better instructed than our own; for the progress of democracy, though not constant, is certain, and the progress of knowledge is both constant and certain.

Voting is a right and if you do not want to exercise that right, who am I or who is anyone to tell you that you are wrong.

I shrugged and said sadly, 'What? Once we gave them the vote, it went totally out of control.' 'You're a pig, Harry,' Murphy growled. 'But a pig smart enough to bow to the inevitable.