Democracy Quotes

"I was never convinced that war was the best system to bring democracy to the country"

"Until democracy in effective enthusiastic action fills the vacuum created by the power of modern inventions, we may expect the fascists to increase in power after the war both in the United States and in the world"

"This dullness of vision regarding the importance of the general welfare to the individual is the measure of the failure of our schools and churches to teach the spiritual significance of genuine democracy"

"The worldwide, agelong struggle between fascism and democracy will not stop when the fighting ends in Germany and Japan"

"My optimism is not based primarily on the successful march of democracy in recent times but rather is based on the experience of having lived in a fear society and studied the mechanics of tyranny that sustain such a society"

"Japan is not a Western democracy. The Japanese have kept their traditions, culture and heritage, but they have joined the community of free nations"

"It is important to remember that some of the most serious thinkers once thought that democracy was not compatible with the cultures of Germany, Italy, Japan, Latin America and Russia"

"The better the information it has, the better democracy works. Silence and secrecy are never good for it"

"Well my briefing was that Honduras was a small and vulnerable country just back on the path towards democracy it was about to have just before I arrived, the first elections for a civilian president in more than 9 years"

"The two most important things that can be done to promote democracy in the world is first, to bring moral clarity back to world affairs and second, to link international policies to the advance of democracy around the globe"

"The three main sources of scepticism are first, that not every people desires freedom; second, that democracy in certain parts of the world would be dangerous; and third, that there is little the world's democracies can do to advance freedom outside their countries"

"A monoculture is not only Hollywood, but Americans trying to export democracy"

"American democracy must be a failure because it places the supreme authority in the hands of the poorest and most ignorant part of the society"

"Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens"

"By helping readers understand these mechanics, I hope they will appreciate why freedom is for everyone, why it is essential for our security and why the free world plays a critically important role in advancing democracy around the globe"

"Democracy is not about making speeches. It is about making committees work"

"Democracy functions best when we have an active citizenry"