David Brooks Quotes

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.

There can be no democracy without truth. There can be no truth without controversy, there can be no change without freedom. Without freedom there can be no progress.

A mature society understands that at the heart of democracy is argument.

In contrast to totalitarianism, democracy can face and live with the truth about itself.

The firmness with which the people have withstood the late abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment between them.

Transparency is key to reciprocal accountability, which we use to be both free and smart. It is the miracle tool that enables us to question the lies of monsters.

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.

The better the information it has, the better democracy works. Silence and secrecy are never good for it.

If people who cherish freedom, who know the importance of mutual respect and are aware of the imperative necessity to establish a constructive and critical debate, if these people are not ready to speak out, to be more committed and visible, then we can expect sad, painful tomorrows. The choice is ours.

I always say the strength of democracy lies in criticism. If there is no criticism, that means there is no democracy. And if you want to grow, you must invite criticism. And I want to grow; I want to invite criticism.

This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms.

A government of, by and for the people is obligated to conduct the nation's business in a manner that respects dissent.

Democracy must live as it thinks and think as it lives

Questioning is the great strength of democracy; the ability to doubt without losing face

The foundation of democratic liberty is a willingness to believe that other people may perhaps be wiser than oneself.

Democracy is not elections. Democracy includes elections.

The great thing about democracy is we're free to take in all this information and make up our own minds about what is truth.

Free and open communications is the best guarantee of democracy.

In a democracy no one person's word is taken as gospel.

What is good for democracy is good for America.

Democracy means being able to make wrong decisions. That’s the way we learn and mature.

We are told that during times of crisis we must trust the president. Democracy is not about trust; it is about distrust. It is about accountability, exposure, open debate, critical challenge, and popular input and feedback from the citizenry. It is about responsible government. We have to get our fellow Americans to trust their leaders less and themselves more, trust their own questions and suspicions, and their own desire to know what is going on.

If we are honest with ourselves today, we will acknowledge that the ideal of Democracy has never failed, but that we haven't carried it out, and in our lack of faith we have debased the human being who must have a chance to live if Democracy is to be successful.

In democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not its taste, but its effect,...

The value of democracy lies in the fact that good or bad government has its roots in the localities where people know each other and where they account for their actions to their neighbors.