Quotes About Citizenship

The United States grants the favors of the second, third, or fifty-seventh chance, and its citizens remain free to invent for themselves whatever character draws a crowd or pays the rent.

My country ... gave me schooling independence of action and opportunity for service. ... I am indebted to my country beyond any human power to repay.

As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom.

Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote.

Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words.

Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.

When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.

In a democracy everybody has a right to be represented, including the jerks.

In America, freedom and justice have always come from the ballot box, the jury box, and when that fails, the cartridge box.

For us democracy is a question of human dignity. And human dignity is political freedom.

We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.

Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

Eternal vigilance is only part of the price of freedom. The maturity to live with imperfections is another crucial part of the price of freedom.

Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship.

The well being of democracies regardless of their type and status is dependent on one small technical detail: The right to vote. Everything else is secondary.

I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government

Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it.

He who is unfit to serve his fellow citizens wants to rule them.

Un-American activity cannot be prevented or routed out by employing un-American methods; to preserve freedom we must use the tools that freedom provides.

The highest measure of democracy is neither the 'extent of freedom' nor the 'extent of equality', but rather the highest measure of participation.

In democracy everyone has the right to be represented, even the jerks.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner!'

The answer to subversion of democracy is more democracy, more freedom, more justice.