Ronald Reagan Quotes

Political scientists after World War II hypothesized that even though the voices of individual Americans counted for little, most people belonged to a variety of interest groups and membership organizations - clubs, associations, political parties, unions - to which politicians were responsive.

Free and open communications is the best guarantee of democracy.

In a democracy, in a functioning democracy, what would be happening is that popular organizations, unions, political groupings, others would be developing their programs, putting them forth, insisting that their representatives implement those programs.

This is why universities, and civil society more generally, are so important for a democracy like ours, founded on a genuine idealism that we have a hard time holding on to. They provide a space to question whatever we are doing in the name of things we say we believe in or might believe in.

We cannot imagine democracies without a vibrant civil society.

There is little hope for democracy if the hearts of men and women in democratic societies cannot be touched by a call to something greater than themselves.

If we don't have a vigorous questioning, aggressive journalistic community and mythology, democracy itself is in great jeopardy.

Democracy is not just constitutional and legislative rules; it is a culture and practice and adhering by the law and respecting international human rights principles.

Our democracy is predicated on the belief that our government should be accessible by the people. We cannot allow ourselves to give in to fear or shy away from interacting with the public.

Through the inspiration of Vaclav's words, the courage of his dissidence and the integrity of his leadership, Czechoslovakia successfully transitioned from an authoritarian state to a free democracy at the heart of Europe.

Democracy does not require perfect equality, but it does require that citizens share a common life. What matters is that people of different backgrounds and social positions encounter one another, and bump up against one another, in the course of ordinary life.

Democracy as a promise means that society can never be just enough and that the self-reflection and struggles that enable all members of the community to participate in the decisions and institutions that shape their lives must be continually debated, safeguarded, and preserved at all costs.

The rights of democracy are not reserved for a select group within society, they are the rights of all the people.

I tell you, in my opinion, the cornerstone of democracy is free press - that's the cornerstone.

Democracy is not something that happens, you know, just at election time, and it's not something that happens just with one event. It's an ongoing building process. But it also ought to be a part of our culture, a part of our lives.

And in Canada we, you know, it costs us three or $400 million to have an election. You know, it's always been my position that we shouldn't complain about that; that's the price of admission for a living in a great democracy.

Our democracy is not a product but a continual process. It is preserved not by monuments but deeds. Sometimes it needs refining; sometimes it needs amending; sometimes it needs defending. Always, it needs improving.

Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy.

Anyone who wants to be part of the political process should adopt values that are compatible with democracy.

What we are doing in fact is recovering and progressing and sustaining the recovery of our democracy.

We must take proactive steps to promote democracy and human rights abroad.

Democracy belongs to those who exercise it.

We are in a democratic society. It's our job to question.

Democracy is about voting and it's about a majority vote. And it's time that we started exercising the Democratic process.

El Salvador is a democracy so it's not surprising that there are many voices to be heard here. Yet in my conversations with Salvadorans... I have heard a single voice.