Een Oud-Grieks gezegde:
"Wie niet actief deelneemt aan de democratie is geen stil persoon, maar een waardeloos persoon".
ARISTOTELES:
"Tyranny is the rule of one man to the advantage of the ruler, oligarchy to the advantage of the rich, democracy to the advantage of the poor."
THOMAS MANN:
"We must define democracy as that form of government and of society, which is inspired above every other, with the feeling and consciousness of the dignity of man."
OSCAR WILDE (1856-1924):
"High hopes were once formed of democracy; but democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people."
WINSTON CHURCHILL (1874-1965):
"It has been said that democracy is the worst from of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
CHURCHILL:
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute talk with the average voter."
JOSEPH STALIN:
"It is not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes."
OSAMA BIN LADEN:
"The freedom and democracy that you call to is for yourselves and for white race only; as for the rest of the world, you impose upon them your monstrous, destructive policies and Governments, which you call the 'American friends'. Yet you prevent them from establishing democracies. When the Islamic party in Algeria wanted to practice democracy and they won the election, you unleashed your agents in the Algerian army onto them, and to attack them with tanks and guns, to imprison them and torture them - a new lesson from the 'American book of democracy'."
MIRABEAU B. LAMAR:
“A cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy".
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master."
"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
ABE LINCOLN:
"This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.".
EDMOND BURKE (1729-1797):
"The tyranny of a multitude is a multiplied tyranny."
BENJAMIN DISRAELI (1804-1881):
"The world is weary of statesmen whom democracy has degraded into politicians."
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (1890-1969):
"Only if basically the democracy of our day satisfies the mental moral, and physical wants of the masses living under it, can it continue to exist."
HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK (1878-1969):
"Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people."
JOHN F. KENNEDY (1925-1968):
"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe."
ROBERT F. KENNEDY (1925-1968):
"One fifth of the people are against everything all the time."
MARK TWAIN (1835-1910):
"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them."
ELWYN B. WHITE (1899-1985):
"Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time."
WOODROW WILSON (1856-1924):
"The world must be made safe for the democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty."
MAHATMA GHANDI (1869-1948):
"I think it would be a good idea."
when asked what he thought of Western civilization. One of Ghandi’s many famous quotes in regard to democracy is, “Evolution of democracy is not possible if we are not prepared ..."
ARISTOTLE:
“Tyranny is the rule of one man to the advantage of the ruler, oligarchy to the advantage of the rich, democracy to the advantage of the poor.”
LAURENCE J. PETER:
"Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame."
STUART CHASE:
"Democracy, as has been said of Christianity, has never really been tried."
THOMAS JEFFERSON:
"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."
HENDRIK IBSEN:
"The majority is never right."
KARL KRAUS:
"Democracy means the opportunity to be everyone's slave."
H.L. MENCKEN:
"The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy."
CHRIS PATTEN:
"In a democracy everybody has a right to be represented, including the jerks."
PLATO:
"Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal alike."
NIGEL REES:
"Democracy is just too good to share with everybody."
GANDHI:
"Het maakt niet uit voor de doden, de wezen en de daklozen, of de puinhoop is aangericht in naam van de dictatuur of in naam van vrijheid en democratie."
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER:
"Only if basically the democracy of our day satisfies the mental moral, and physical wants of the masses living under it, can it continue to exist."
ROBERT F. KENNEDY:
"One fifth of the people are against everything all the time."
GANDHI:
"Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth."
DAMON KEITH:
"Democracy dies behind closed doors."
WOODROW WILSON:
"Let's make the world safe for democracy."
"Democratie: de meest luxueuze vorm van kapitalisme."
C. BUDDINGH:
"Democraat: iemand die vooral tegen die dictaturen is waaraan hij niets kan verdienen."
J. GRESHOFF:
"Als oprecht democraat eerbiedig ik iedere mening. Het is immers het goed recht van mijn buurman om altijd ongelijk te hebben."
P. WHITNEY:
"In een democratie wordt je geboren en sterf je. Al de rest is voor bespreking vatbaar."
"Democratie is de staatsvorm waarbij de meerderheid regeert en de minderheid de meerderheid vertelt hoe ze dat moet doen."
"Democratie: samenwerking van mensen die elkaar bestrijden."
JAN BLOKKER:
"Wat is democratie? Democratie is georganiseerd wantrouwen."
RUSSELL LONG:
"Democratie is als een vlot. Het zinkt niet, maar je hebt wel altijd natte voeten."
WIM KAN:
"Democratie is de wil van het volk. Elke morgen lees ik stomverbaasd in de krant wat ik nou weer wil."
CATLIN:
"Democratie: de kunst om lieve hond te zeggen tot je een steen hebt gevonden."
"Democratie: de vrijheid je eigen verdrukker te kiezen."
L.J. PETER:
"Democratie is een proces waarin de mensen vrij zijn om de man te kiezen die van alles de schuld gaat krijgen."
HELMAR:
"Democratie betekent: de mensen met rust laten."
BERTUS AAFJES:
"Democratie is het hoogste kapitaal uitbetaald in de kleinste munt."
BERTHELOT:
"Democratie is het recht van de luizen om leeuwen op te eten."
REINHOLD NIEBUHR:
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."
JOHN PATRICK:
"Democracy... is a system of self-determination. It's the right to make the wrong choice."
WALTER WINCHELL:
"Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it."
NORMAN COUSINS:
"In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility."
ARCHIBALD MACLEISH:
"Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing."