James Otis Quotes

We always hear about the rights of democracy, but the major responsibility of it is participation.

Everybody now seems to be talking about democracy. I don't understand this. As I think of it, democracy isn't like a Sunday suit to be brought out and worn only for parades. It's the kind of a life a decent man leads, it's something to live for and to die for.

Democracy belongs to those who exercise it.

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.

As a citizen of a community, if you never vote or engage, don't be surprised when the outcome doesn't serve your interests; you've never done anything to push things in the right direction.

Lobbying is not a bad thing. I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't have lobbyists or we shouldn't have lobbying to petition our government. It's in the Constitution, and it's something that should be honorable and good.

This is one of the finest expressions of U. S. democracy at work.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Democracy is the least static form of society. Its basis is reason not authority.

In a democracy, power implies responsibility.

When the mayor's concerned about something, eveybody's concerned about it.

We cannot have a situation where people decide to sit in places not allowed and when police remove them they say no. We can’t have that. That is a revolt to the system. Some are crying that they were beaten. Yes you will be thoroughly beaten. When the police say move, you move. If you don’t move, you invite the police to use force.

The New Englander is attached to his township because it is strong and independent; he has an interest in it because he shares in its management; he loves it because he has no reason to complain of his lot; he invests his ambition and his future in it; in the restricted sphere within his scope, he learns to rule society; he gets to know those formalities without which freedom can advance only through revolutions, and becoming imbued with their spirit, develops a taste for order, understands the harmony of powers, and in the end accumulates clear, practical ideas about the nature of his duties and the extent of his rights.

I hold to be of itself a lesson for all those who love liberty, and who would extend its blessings to their country. Men are not to be pedants in liberty, any more than in virtue. Though they are not to be oppressed by tyrants, they must at least be governed by their fellow-men. The great principles of independence in the heart of man are to be cherished and upheld; but order, prosperity, the purposes of society, must be accomplished. The many must delegate the government of themselves to the few. Control, executive power, must be lodged somewhere …

The continued vitality of our Constitution and the survival of each freedom it protects depend upon the right to vote and the vibrant democracy it affords us. In short, the right to vote underlies each of our other rights.

In each and every election, it's your rights, it's your freedoms, it's your interests that are on the ballot.

Representing the people of Welwyn Garden City makes me intensely proud.

It's your human right to push back against something you disagree with. You do that by voting for that guy instead of that guy, or that lady instead of that lady.

I'm pleased about representing any portion of Montclair.

You should absolutely get involved, especially those local politics like school board seats. That's really where America happens.

If you value the democratic process, you have to value the protection of political speech.

Patriotic is saying, government, you know, you're not always the solution.

In order to protect himself from force, man was obliged to submit to justice. Justice or force: he was compelled to choose between the two masters, so little are we made to be independent.

Light and liberty go together.

Aristotle dines when it seems good to King Philip, but Diogenes when he himself pleases.