Fred Hampton Quotes

You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can't succeed without your help.

I'm convinced democracy will grow from the ground up, from the community.

What we have ignored is what citizens can do and the importance of real involvement of the people versus just having somebody in Washington make a rule.

I do feel, in a sense, the rules of engagement for citizenship has changed, and we must encourage other people to speak up and to take action.

The whole idea of a democracy is that we ourselves, the people, are supposed to make a path of our politics, and it is we who with our feet and our vote and our labors and our vigilance are supposed to shape our country.

A town meeting is a legislature of citizens, for citizens, and by citizens. The fact that each citizen of the town is also a legislator separates the New England town meeting from all other forms of democracy.

Democracy is built from the bottom up, one step at a time.

Influence elected government officials, don't just elect them. Your right is to govern yourselves, not just to choose your governors.

What we are seeing here is democracy in action.

I really believe you've gotta put the power in the people. They're the ones who are gonna make the experience.

As leaders, our job is to engage people so that they will want to participate in this grand experience in self governance.

If in a democratic country nothing can be permanently achieved save through the masses of the people, it will be impossible to establish a higher political life than the people themselves crave.

For we put the power in the people.

The consequences of these institutions (The towns or districts, the congregations, the schools,and the militia.) have been, that the inhabitants, having acquired from their infancy the habit of discussing, of deliberating, and of judging of public affairs, it was in these assemblies of towns or districts that the sentiments of the people were formed in the first place, and their resolutions were taken from the beginning to the end of the disputes and the war with Great Britain.

The power of the people and the power of reason are one.

Let's not give the electoral process so much importance. We have to be cynical about it. Let's give importance to the real democracy that's constructed on a day-to-day basis. That's my hopeful perspective on it.

The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions.

When the three branches of government have failed to represent the citizenry and the mass of the media has failed to represent the citizenry, then the citizenry better represent the citizenry.

In order for critical pedagogy, dialogue, and thought to have real effects, they must advocate the message that all citizens, old and young, are equally entitled, if not equally empowered, to shape the society in which they live.

I hope you realize, in a democracy, laughter is assent.

The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.

Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.

We don't believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans.

In a democratic set-up, people who are being governed should also be a part of the governing system. They should be drafted into the governance.

The unique thing about our country is that we don't get behind politicians, politicians get behind us.