Carlos Mesa Quotes

Citizenship is not a transaction where you put your taxes in and take your services out. It is a relationship.

The government is us; we are the government, you and I.

The government serves the people - not vice-versa.

Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your government is doing to you.

The value of government to the people it serves is in direct relationship to the interest citizens themselves display in the affairs of state.

There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.

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

The modern state no longer has anything but rights; it does not recognize duties any more.

I expect we will become more demanding as citizens.

A government as good as the people.

Presidents come from the people and the should return to the people.

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

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

I like people in the cities, in the States and in the Nation to ask themselves now and then: 'What can I do for my city?' not 'How much can I get out of my city?' I like people to speak now and then in the same devotion to State and Nation.

I think citizenship should count for something... and it really counts for nothing.

The work of being a citizen is hard and annoying, but it can pay off.

Citizens do not just make up and preserve a Republic; they are its ultimate stakeholders and in fact pillars.

I'm always trying to invite citizens to participate in the process of public decision-making.

I took on pension reform, health care reform, and leave reform - all of those tough issues that so many elected officials prefer to kick down the road to the next generation. But that's not who I am. I am not persuaded by what is politically popular but what is best for the citizens of Baltimore.

We need a new kind of citizenship, so that we can see citizens as themselves earning the rank of patriot because of their involvement in their community affairs....We as a society need to be encouraging people to focus not just on individual wants but on serving the larger community.

The era of big government is over, but the era of big challenge is not. We need an era of big citizenship. There are many important people at this summit, but the most important title is 'citizen.' This is our republic. Let us keep it!

No government demands so much from the citizens as democracy and none gives back so much.

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.

Talk of citizenship today is often thin and tinny. The word has a faintly old-fashioned feel to it when used in everyday conversation. When evoked in national politics, it's usually accompanied by the shrill whine of a descending culture-war mortar.

The first lesson in civics is that efficient government begins at home.