Quotes About Democracy

A lot of young poets today, from what I've heard and experienced, can't get their heads past George W. Bush, and I've heard so many poems about this democracy and this era of politics that I'm kind of bored by it.

What's the point of elections if everything is already decided?

People can voice their different points of view. We are also a country where there will be criticism.

If you said to people you can cast a secret ballot on whether to turn back the clock and have Morsi in power again, I don't think very many people in Washington would turn back that clock.

Unless the law issues from all of the people, some of the people will feel left out. They will come to feel alienated. They will be angry. And this will not be a cohesive democracy.

We must combat ill-advised conservative-led state legislation by encouraging every eligible person you know to vote.

Elections come and go, people win and lose, that is part of politics. It doesn't anyway change things on the ground.

The key here is that we're not going to beat them on commercials: They're always going to have more money than us. So what we have to try to do throughout is just ask people to make sure they vote.

What makes our country unique is its commitment to being open, to making its leaders accountable.

If you ever live in a country run by a committee, be on the committee.

Americans and Europeans share a common goal - to build an enduring peace based on freedom.

I am not a communist.

We are not communists.

If you ever, ever, ever want to complain about what's going on in the U.S., you should vote because then you have a right to. If you want to complain, you should vote.

You can't complain or have a say if you don't vote.

In politics, you have to compromise from morning to evening. Democracy is the art of compromise.

In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works.

Given the right conditions any society can turn against democracy.

I want to make democracy work not only for the rich and the well connected but for everyone.

I have been fighting for democracy since I was 15 when I organised a strike to oppose the Hong Kong government's plan to introduce the Chinese patriotic school education; 100,000 people surrounded a government building with students asking for democracy for every citizen.

The values of democracy, brotherhood, and freedom that constitute the building blocks of American society are also shared by Israeli society, together with the faith in man's power and ability to change and influence his surroundings.

In a democracy, the citizens are supposed to have all the power, and the government is supposed to be the means by which the citizens exercise that power. But when you have a surveillance state, the state has all the power, and citizens have very little.

Bringing an end to mass government surveillance needs to be a central pillar of returning to the principles we have put in jeopardy in the early 21st century.

Surveillance legislation fit for the 21st century, which strikes the right balance between privacy, security and democracy is a prize worth fighting for, and Labour will work constructively with the government to achieve it.