E. M. Forster Quotes

Democracy affords debate, discussion and dissent.

Freedom only for supporters of the government, only for the members of one party - however numerous they may be - is no freedom at all. Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently. Not because of any fanatical concept of 'justice' but because all that is instructive, wholesome and purifying in political freedom depends on this essential characteristic, and its effectiveness vanishes when 'freedom' becomes a special privilege.

Free societies are societies in which the right of dissent is protected.

I like the noise of democracy.

A free society is a place where it's safe to be unpopular.

The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.

The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself—always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity.

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

Democracy cannot flourish amid fear.

America is great precisely because it is an open society, and an open society recognizes that nobody is the ultimate arbiter — and that we may be wrong at times, even if we are powerful. We must be open to criticism and respect divergent and different views and interests.

Politically, the surest way to ward off authoritarianism is to safeguard the public expression of diverse opinion and the democratic interactions that result.

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

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.

I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society.

Democracy means that people can say what they want to. All the people. It means that they can vote as they wish. All the people. It means that they can worship God in any way they feel right, and that includes Christians and Jews and voodoo doctors as well.

What is good about the United States is the sense that you can disagree with the government and not be seen as unpatriotic, although many in the government will try to make you seem unpatriotic.

Fascist movements kill off their critics, literally or metaphorically, while democratic movements value, invite and even welcome criticism.

America's greatest contribution to the world is its concept of democracy, its concept of freedom, freedom of action, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought.

Democracy may not prove in the long run to be as efficient as other forms of government, but it has one saving grace: it allows us to know and say that it isn't.

If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, then, they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication. Then, no law should permit those democratic processes to be set at nought.

Freedom is when the people can speak, democracy is when the government listens.

Democracy is the only form of government which dislikes itself.

Parties must ever exist in a free country.

Democracy, once unleashed, is a pretty powerful force.

America remains an open society in which opposing forces can surface and clash, a necessary precondition for their solution.