Norman Douglas Quotes

We in the press have a special role since there is no other institution in our society that can hold the President accountable. I do believe that our democracy can endure and prevail only if the American people are informed.

Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it's wrong.

For me, the definition of a patriot is someone who is willing to constantly question the government; that's what separates us from other countries.

You have the God-given right to kick the government around. Don't hesitate to do so.

Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating, and I challenge the American people to demand this from their representatives.

I believe to go along to get along is unpatriotic. I believe that agreeing with your government on everything they do is unpatriotic. I believe a patriot stands up and holds your government's feet to the fire. Because if you do that, you will get good government.

Public trust is essential to public safety.

It is not the Government, the members of Parliament to whom the ultimate decision belongs, it is up to you to go forward sure of your sacred right of free opinion, sure of your patriotism.

I begin to feel like most Americans don't understand the First Amendment, don't understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don't understand that it's the responsibility of the citizen to speak out.

All Americans value the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, and I believe this is essential for our continued way of life. But with this freedom comes responsibility. That responsibility has been abdicated here by some in the media and some in the government.

I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it.

By intellectual liberty I mean the right to think and the right to think wrong.

We as citizens should hold our government accountable for word and deed.

John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." I have never understood why this utterance, which in essence urges everyone to volunteer themselves as unquestioning slaves, guinea pigs and cannon fodder to a grasping state, is quoted with such reverence. What Kennedy should have said is this: “Ask lots of very pointed questions about what your country promises to do for you, and don't forget to ask exactly what it proposes to do to you. Then pick the place that offers the best deal. You will be doing a favour not only to yourself, but potentially to all of mankind.”

I think it's the height of patriotism to continue to exercise your right as a citizen and to hold your government to account. Isn't that what the very essence of democracy is about?

I believe that people should be able to question things.

Ask yourself, have you ever heard any of your PAP MPs ask the hard questions? As a Singaporean, you have a right to information that the Government is refusing to answer.

When you have a young man, I mean, questioning the power in place for love of his country, not to say 'stop' but to say 'be careful about the abuse of technology,' I think it deserves to be promoted.

Mere unorthodoxy or dissent from the prevailing mores is not to be condemned. The absence of such voices would be a symptom of grave illness to our society.

My critique of democracy begins and ends with this point. Kids must be educated to disrespect authority or else democracy is a farce.

Nowadays, the media have to be there to keep you from asking too many questions, from getting together with other people who might want to do the Jeffersonian thing and call out the government.

Liberty is about our rights to question everything.

We must preserve our right to think and differ.

Dissent is the mark of freedom, as originality is the mark of independence of mind. … No one can be a scientist … if he does not have independence of observation and of thought.

Every individual should be expressing themselves, whether a politician or a minister or a policeman.