Democratic Society Quotes - Page 6

• Democratic societies can no longer give religious fanatics a free hand to abuse and murder non believers. Such action betrays contempt for the basic human rights which animate any democracy with meaning.

  Armstrong Williams

  Religious, Rights, Hands

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• With Taiwan, it took about 40 years to go from an authoritarian to a democratic society.

  Ma Ying-jeou

  Years, Taiwan, Democratic

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• The fact is that the average man's love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth... Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty - and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies.

  H. L. Mencken

  Love, Courage, Men

  "The Baltimore Sun" Newspaper, February 12, 1923.

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• Citizens of the democratic societies should undertake a course of intellectual self defense to protect themselves from manipulation and control, and to lay the basis for meaningful democracy.

  Noam Chomsky

  Meaningful, Self, Intellectual

  Noam Chomsky (1989). “Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies”, p.8, Pluto Press

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• We must face the ultimate contradiction that our free and democratic society was made possible by massive slave labor.

  David Brion Davis

  Slave Labor, Faces, Contradiction

  David Brion Davis (2008). “Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World”, p.6, Oxford University Press

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• I don't see anything immoral, unethical or illegal for a person in a democratic society to be able to spend their own money on the health care of themself or a loved one.

  Brian Day

  Care, Able, Loved Ones

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• The interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship.

  John Paul Stevens

  Expression, Benefits, Censorship

  "ACLU Hails Supreme Court Victory in Internet Censorship Challenge". www.aclu.org. June 27, 1997.

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• The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is legitimate only to the degree that it serves defensible poltical goals. Thus implies a constant exercise of due diligence.

  Michael Ignatieff

  Exercise, Goal, Political

  "The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror". Book by Michael Ignatieff, April 2004.

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