Bill Moyers Quotes

The newspaper is in all its literalness the bible of democracy, the book out of which a people determines its conduct

I believe that everyone should participate in democracy and enjoy doing it.

Voting is a civic sacrament.

The first duty of an American citizen, then is that he shall work in politics.

It's a very painful and difficult process of many mistakes when people receive the right to vote, to elect their leaders when they become the subject for mass media for political manipulation. In particular, in a country like Russia, because we had to go through this period very quickly, it has been, I would say, a crash course in democracy

American democracy depends on the public's ability to remain accurately informed on our state of affairs.

But, you know, I'm sorry, I think democracy requires participation. I mean, I don't want to proselytize but I do feel some sort of duty to participate in the process in some way other than just blindly getting behind a political party.

Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy.

Democracy is not just voting for your leaders; it's really premised upon ordinary citizens understanding the issues.

Growing up, when we would get dragged to these events, I didn't want to be there. Over time, as we got older, I developed a real appreciation of the importance of being involved in the democratic process.

You can't be a full participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.

I kinda halfway paid attention to politics during my early years, but the older you get, the more you realize it's very important to pay attention to who gets elected. They can ruin the country.

As a citizen, you need to know how to be a part of it, how to express yourself - and not just by voting.

Democracy is something that you must learn each generation. It has to be taught.

I think politics is important. It's how we run our society. I think it should be natural to have an interest in the subject, and I almost don't understand why some people don't.

The only way to change is to vote. People are responsible.

I'd rather vote for something I want and not get it than vote for something I don't want, and get it.

The fact that a man is to vote forces him to think.

Citizens are refined, cultivated, and very political. I believe in the legitimacy of their participation.

You damned fools. You can either vote for me for mayor or you can go to hell

I like to bring my kids to the voting booth to show them how it works. I'll let them draw their own conclusions as to how worthwhile it is.

Democracy depends on well educated and engaged citizens.

A democracy is predicated on an educated citizenry. You cannot have a democracy with people that are more interested in what Nicole Kidman is doing or whoever the latest fashion model is.

We need to be constantly reminded that this is a representative democracy, and we need to be in tune to what people are talking about.

I don't want to tell anybody who to vote for; I'd rather people just do their homework and make sure they vote for the person that they feel like is best to run our country.