Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes

I feel it's a person's duty to participate in the governing of the country in which he lives.

It is citizen participation that nourishes the strength of a democracy.

As citizens, we have to co-create good governance, we cannot outsource it and hope to be passively happy consumers. Like everything worth its while, good governance must be earned.

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

A government of, for and by the people, requires much from the people.

Self government is the hardest thing that people can do other than fighting a civil war.

For America to work, Americans have to participate. If they don’t pay attention, they’re going to get screwed.

Living in a republic demands a great deal of us.

Our culture is at a critical cusp - a time that requires that we define what it means to be a citizen in a democracy. Within our nation we need to foster a greater sense of collective responsibility.

Bernard Shaw remains the only model we have of what the citizen of a democracy should be: an informed participant in all things we deem important to the society and the individual.

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.

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

As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end.

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 daily democracy without daily citizenship.

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.

I call on people to be 'obsessed citizens,' forever questioning and asking for accountability. That's the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.

Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country.

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

A democratic form of government, a democratic way of life, presupposes free public education over a long period; it presupposes also an education for personal responsibility that too often is neglected.

Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.

Government is not a substitute for people, but simply the instrument through which they act. And if the individual fails to do his duty as a citizen, government becomes a very deadly instrument indeed.

Being a citizen in a democracy involves more than just voting. It means being involved for the common whole.

We are not perfect. Democracy is a messy business … Democracy depends on people getting and keeping involved … In our democracy, the government is not them; it is us.

Responsible citizenship comes from direct participation in the conduct of the government, and imposes equal responsibility upon every citizen. If we could quicken and increase appreciation of this responsibility, and every citizen were made to feel its weight and importance, it would go far toward improving our political and national life.