¶ This is the affirmation on which democracy rests … [W]e can all be responsible … We become what we do. So does the world we live in, if enough of us do it — whether “it” be good or detestable. This is the burden of freedom: that it is all our fault or our credit.
— Herbert Agar (1897-1980) American journalist and historian
“The Perils of Democracy” (1966)
http://wist.info/agar-herbert/35561/
¶ The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
— Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer and politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, ch. 13 (1835)
http://wist.info/tocqueville-alexis-de/14232/
¶ Democracy does not give the people the most skillful government, but it produces what the ablest governments are frequently unable to create: namely, an all-pervading and restless activity, a superabundant force, and an energy which is inseparable from it and which may, however unfavorable circumstances may be, produce wonders.
— Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer and politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, ch. 14 (1835) [tr. Reeve and Bowen (1862)]
http://wist.info/tocqueville-alexis-de/8354/
¶ I shall ask no more than that you agree with Dean Inge that even though counting heads is not an ideal way to govern, at least it beats breaking them.
— Learned Hand (1872-1961) American jurist
“Democracy: Its Presumptions and Realities” (1932)
http://wist.info/hand-learned/1765/
¶ Let us not be mistaken: the best government in the world, the best parliament and the best president, cannot achieve much on their own. And it would be wrong to expect a general remedy from them alone. Freedom and democracy include participation and therefore responsibility from us all.
— Václav Havel (1936-2011) Czech playwright, essayist, dissident, politician
“New Year’s Address to the Nation” (1 Jan 1990)
http://wist.info/havel-vaclav/34930/
