*
Democracy doesn't recognize
east or west; democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge
that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself.
-- Shirin Ebadi
* To
win the war on terror, we must preserve our moral authority to lead the world.
If we are to succeed in spreading democracy abroad, we must defend the fundamental
principles of democracy at home. -- John
Edwards
*
… we believe in the
vocation of communion and participation of our people, who day to day awaken to
their political conscience and express their desire for change and profound democratization
of society. A change based on justice, built with love, and which will bring us
the most anxiously desired fruits of peace. -- Adolfo
Perez Esquivel
* I
understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.
-- Mohandas
K. Gandhi
To
safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect,
and their oneness. -- Mohandas
Gandhi
In
true democracy every man and women is taught to
think for himself or herself. -- Mohandas
Gandhi
The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether
governmental or popular. -- Mohandas
Gandhi
The
spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without.
It has to come from within.
-- Mohandas
Gandhi
"What
does it matter to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless whether the mad destruction
is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"
-- Mohandas Gandhi
*
"You cannot bring democracy
to a country by attacking it." ~ Akbar
Ganji
When
there is a crisis, the first thing that gets damaged and gets harmed is democracy.
~ Akbar Ganji
*
The modern infrastructures
that exists in the world all contribute to the advancement of human rights and
democracy. ~ Akbar Ganji
*
Ultimately, I believe
-- because energy is so central to our lives -- that a common global project to
rewire the world with clean energy could be the first step on a path to global
peace and global democracy -- even in today's deeply troubled world. -- Ross
Gelbspan
"The
citizens of Love Canal provided an example of how a blue-collar community with
few resources can win against great odds (a multi-billion-dollar international
corporation and an unresponsive government), using the power of the people in
our democratic system."
~ Lois Gibbs
"The freedom
and human capacities of individuals must be developed to their maximum but individual
powers must be linked to democracy in the sense that social betterment must be
the necessary consequence of individual flourishing." -- Henry Giroux
*
The media is absolutely
essential to the functioning of a democracy. It's not our job to cozy up to power.
We're supposed to be the check and balance on government. -- Amy
Goodman
*
Freedom means to build
a democratic system enshrined with the respect for fundamental rights of Man,
of the human being, of the individuals. -- Xanana
Gusmão
Think of the millions
of young men who died fighting for democracy. We spit on their graves when we
let democracy slip away into the sewer of illegal money." -- Doris
Haddock (Granny D)
We should know that
only replacing the economics of competition and greed with the economics of equitable
cooperation will guarantee a globalization that takes advantage of potential efficiency
gains in ways that also promote environmental protection, international equity,
economic democracy, and variety. -- Robin Hahnel
We
should insist that governments receiving American aid live up to standards of
accountability and transparency, and we should support countries that embrace
market reforms, democracy, and the rule of law. -- Lee H. Hamilton
“We
need to be activating deep democracy because democracy is fleeting through our
fingers, and most people are unaware of it. Democracy is about dispersing power
among the interconnected people. As a people, we need to rise to the level of
forcing our leaders to abide by our stated principles - really exercise democracy,
not only on our behalf but on behalf of the world. We need to continue, as part
and parcel of the American experience created by the founding forefathers, and
now the foremothers, to insist, "We want democracy to work, and that means every
voice counts." -- Dr. Azizah al-Hibri
Democracy
is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something
you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles. -- Abbie
Hoffman
"If
you look back in history, you will find the core mission of public education in
America was to create places of civic virtue for our children and for our society.
As education undergoes the rigors of re-examination and the need for reinvention,
it is cruicial to remember that the key role of public schools is to preserve
democracy and, that as battered as we might be, our mission is central to the
future of this county." -- Paul D. Houston, Executive director of the American
Association of School Administrators
"A
generation that acquires knowledge without ever understanding how that knowledge
can benefit the community is a generation that is not learning what it means to
be citizens in a democracy." -- Elizabeth L. Hollander (1817-1885)
*
We can enhance democracy
by making it in line with its original vision. Read the dollar bill - E pluribus
unum, out of many, one; novus ordo seclorum, a new order of the ages. That's democracy.
-- Barbara Marx Hubbard
"America
is a country ready to be taken—in fact, longing to be taken—by political leaders
ready to restore democracy and trust to the political process." -- Arianna
Huffington
*
I swear to the Lord
I still can't see Why Democracy means Everybody but me. --
Langston Hughes
*
"Full
democracy requires the full participation of women. Your voices are vital. The
word 'vital' means necessary for life. A democracy, to be fully alive, must include
all its citizens." -- Swanee
Hunt
*
The
death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be
a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment. -- Robert
Maynard Hutchins
*
“All democracies are
based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely
important not to let any one person or small group have too much power for too
long a time” ~ Aldous
Huxley
*
The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet.
It requires a certain relish for confusion. -- Molly
Ivins
*
Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy. --
Jesse Jackson
*
Since an informed citizenry is the basis for a healthy democracy, independent,
non-corporate media are more crucial today than ever before -- Dahr
Jamail
*
“All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the
majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable;
that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and
to violate would be oppression.” -- Thomas
Jefferson
I
know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but people. And if
we think them not enlightened enough, the remedy is not to take the power from
them, but to inform them by education. -- Thomas
Jefferson
It
is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail. -- Thomas
Jefferson
Whenever
the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.
-- Thomas Jefferson
