Patrick Murphy Quotes

Influence elected government officials, don't just elect them. Your right is to govern yourselves, not just to choose your governors.

Do the unexpected. Take 20 minutes out of your day, do what young people all over the world are dying to do: vote.

You want young people to vote, make Election Day a national holiday.

What can government do? They can listen to their own people. But I'll tell you what citizens can do, when we elect one of these people - whether we think it's a good guy or a bozo - you got to stay on the case. You don't vote and go home and give them the keys to the car, he'll drive you right off a cliff. You have to help people to stay honest.

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.

No matter where you stand politically - even if you're unsure of what your political ideology is - it is important to take part in the process of shaping our government.

In democracy, every election is a learning process. You learn from every election, the one that you win and the one that you lose. And then you prepare for the next one.

America gets the politicians they deserve. That's it. And you keep struggling.

I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it.

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.

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

You have a voice, you have a vote. Use it.

We need to get young people involved in the running of this country.

Americans need to be engaged and invested in the legislative process that affects their daily lives, otherwise we are just democracy in name only.

I think it doesn't actually matter what your political persuasion is, but if you are interested in the country that you live in and the way in which it's run, everyone has to do something about that.

I like to think of myself as an active American in our politics, but I get lost sometimes watching everything.

But, Jefferson worried that the people - and the argument goes back to Thucydides and Aristotle - are easily misled. He also stressed, passionately and repeatedly, that it was essential for the people to understand the risks and benefits of government, to educate themselves, and to involve themselves in the political process. Without that, he said, the wolves will take over.

I want young people to be involved, and I especially want young people to vote.

We think that democracy can change a lot of things, but we're being fooled, because democracy is not the election. We've been taught that democracy is having elections. And it isn't. Elections are the most horrendous aspect of democracy. It's the most mundane, trivial, disappointing, dirty aspect.

I've always tried to explain democracy is not perfect. But it gives you a chance to shape your own destiny.

The responsibility for good government lies not just with governments themselves but also with every other part of the system they operate in, including media, non-governmental organisations and the public.

The Internet empowers individuals to play a more active role in the political process, as Obama's campaign has manifested.

Democracy is interactive... It's a constant job of information, education, explanation, listening, and interactive communication.

The government must give men and women without power a real say over what happens to them, and the means of engaging in a participative, invigorated and living democracy.

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