Saul Alinsky Quotes

Liberty was realized when the citizens were ... willing to sacrifice their private interests for the sake of the community

Democracy is based upon empathy and the recognition that some decisions are solely for the community's benefit without regard to one's own narrow self-interest.

All government is intended for the benefit of the people.

Freedom is not worth fighting for if it means no more than license for everyone to get as much as he can for himself.

If, in the name of liberty, we allow individuals to act in a way that damages the wellbeing of the whole, it will inevitably mean the breakdown of mutuality, thereby changing the very nature of our society.

My father offered his life so our democracy could live. My mother devoted her life to nurturing that democracy. I will dedicate my life to making our democracy reach its fullest potential: that of ensuring equality for all. My family has sacrificed much, and I am willing to do this again if necessary.

In our pledge every day, we pledge one Nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

I am involved in mankind, and whatever the skin, we are all involved in mankind. Equality of opportunity must prevail if we are to complete the covenant that we have made with the people, and when we held up our hands to take an oath to defend the laws and to carry out the Constitution of the United States.

Join cooperatively with one another, put aside self-interest, and take on service to the public …

On your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country…will depend the answer whether a free society can compete.

I think most people agree with the idea of shared sacrifice, but for many, when push comes to shove, that principle goes out the window.

What makes revolutionary thought unique is its clarity and dignity, and its clear grasp of freedom and justice: simple, clear words that are understood without the need for any help from elite writers or thinkers.

Strong, generous, and confident, she has nobly served mankind. Beware how you trifle with your marvellous inheritance, this great land of ordered liberty, for if we stumble and fall freedom and civilization everywhere will go down in ruin.

Everyone living under the social contract we call democracy has a duty to act responsibly, to obey the laws, and to abandon certain types of self-interested behaviors that conflict with the general good.

To realize that new world we must prefer the values of freedom and equality above all other values - above personal wealth, technical power and nationalism.

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

For me, socialism has always been about liberty and solidarity, but also about responsibility.

The motive power of democracy is love.

A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common good.

All who think cannot but see there is a sanction like that of religion which binds us in partnership in the serious work of the world.

Balancing the common good with the freedom and liberty to exercise that individuality has been and remains a challenge for those committed to democracy while understanding that the polis ensures our participation and therefore our citizenship.

I believe in cooperating for the common good.

Free people make the only milieu possible in society for the full gift of one's self to church, state, and family. Free people enjoy and sustain and feel with one another because they live for one another. The paths of life are intermingled lives.

It's appropriate to celebrate public service, and the thoughtful people who choose to serve. They symbolize what is good and decent about this historic citizen legislature, and we thank them.

The Pledge of Allegiance says, 'liberty and justice for all'.