Forum Post: About "Democracy" (in case we have forgotten)...
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 17, 2011, 3:56 p.m. EST by fmiller
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"In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme." -Aristotle
"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country." -Franklin D. Roosevelt
“A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people” -Abraham Lincoln
"You can't put democracy and freedom back into a box." -George W. Bush
"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." -Jimmy Carter
"Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development." -Kofi Annan
"America's corporate and political elites now form a regime of their own and they're privatizing democracy. All the benefits - the tax cuts, policies and rewards flow in one direction: up." -Bill Moyers
"Democracy belongs to those who exercise it." -Bill Moyers
Pure democracy is corrupt
How is it corrupt?
The majority have free reign to oppress the minority.
The first quote is just part of Aristotle's argument.
But authoritarianism is no better. It gives the minority a right to rule the majority.
We aren't an authoritative government. We're a constitutional republic, which empowers both the minorty and majority. The problem is, no one is taking advantage of their right to vote.
Look at voting statistics for the past 50 years on all levels of government. People complain about government, yet voter registration and voter turnout has been atrocious.
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