"Where there is peace, God is." ~George Herbert

"Carve your blessings in stone." ~Anon
"I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again." ~William Penn
"Dictum sapienti sat est - A word to a wise person is sufficient." ~Cicero Ovid Seneca

"May your pen happily writes ...™ ©Leah C Dancel

2/16/15

Quotes on DEMOCRACY, FREEDOM and LIBERTY


DEMOCRACY

"An educated, enlightened and informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy." ~Nelson Mandela speaking at St John's College, Johannesburg, South Africa, 6 October 2003, LivingTheLegacy

"Aristocracy never leads to democracy; it presumes a government by the "best" and therefore of and for the "best" and not the rest." ~Joffre Balce

"Be critical, vocal, and involved in the political process. We are a democratic country and it is our duty to keep our government in check." ~Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago

"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Democracy demands maturity and responsible citizenship." ~Rafael Alunan III, September 20

“Democracy is more than just saying. It is saying what matters and pushing all of us, from whatever stripe, into thinking, and doing. ….You cannot provide all the answers nor can you pretend to be experts at everything, but you can encourage your readers to probe beyond what you say, or portray. The buck should not stop with you. It should empower them to look further, read deeper and think faster.” ~Resurgent dot ph (Editorial), December 19, 2016

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they’re going to have for lunch.”
~Benjamin Franklin

"Democracy of the people, by the people and for the people as the best form of government is founded on the belief that reason prevails in getting the consensus of the majority, not religious dogma, not rhetorics of demagogues, and not because of the belief that the best minds come only from the rich and the powerful." ~Bogz Lee

"He's a victim of economic hit men and jackals brutally judged and executed in the name of democracy." ~Joffre Balce on Gaddafi

"Human freedom involves our capacity to pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight." ~Rollo May

"If God gave our soldiers the spirit of courage, to protect us from our enemies and fight for our freedom, He gave you guys the heart of compassion, of serving, and of giving." ~Jovybev Aquino

"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 (384 BC-322 BC)

"In the future, democracy is not going to last long because the politician is already ignorant before the scientist; he is already in the hands of the scientist. The future belongs to the scientist, not to the politician. That means we will have to change the word democracy. I have a word for it: meritocracy." ~OSHO (Priests and Politicians: The Mafia of the Soul)

"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

"Neoliberalism is a self-serving racket that exempts billionaires and large corporations from the constraints of democracy, from paying their taxes, from not polluting, from having to pay fair wages, from not exploiting their workers" - George Monbiot

"The election is the soul of democracy." ~Benson Bautista

"The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations." ~Thomas Jefferson

"WE WANT CHANGE! We want a leader that can bring us to that Promised Land. Duterte is a destructor of bad democracy, and equipped with an iron policy to effectively govern this country. We want a radical change; we believe it’s the only way... I’m taking that rollercoaster ride with him. I’m going up, slightly scared and excited, I don’t know what’s coming next but I know it’s going to be good. You can’t handle it, then ride a carousel that will give you the same vicious cycle of greed, corruption and illegal drugs. This great iron fist will change the infrastructure of the society of Philippines for the better, you're either with us, or against us, SO BE IT." ~Vivian Velez

"When democracy doesn’t deliver, its legitimacy becomes difficult to defend. And when successive elite-dominated governments have used democracy for their own ends, the balance tilts towards authoritarianism." ~Cleve Kevin Robert Arguelles, Instructor of Political Science at University of the Philippines, December 22, 2016

"When traversing the treacherous slopes of defending our nation's new found freedom, it is so reassuring to know that we've got each others back." ~Jovybev Aquino

"You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a revolution." ~Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936)

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FREEDOM


"A friend is someone who allows us the space and freedom to be." ~Debbie Alicen

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~Abraham Lincoln

"Animals were given freedom. Mankind took it away." ~A.D. Williams

"As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost and science can never regress." ~Marcel Proust

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." ~Viktor E. Frankl

"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

"Depend upon it that the lovers of freedom will be free." ~Edmund Burke

"During my reading leisure, one of the people that I do regularly stay tuned in Facebook is Mr. Mark Lopez. Though meek in his appearance, he is fierce with his keystrokes as every message he send to the public is painstakingly direct and honest. His latest rant on freedom of speech is one hell of an accolade as he give emphasis on openness of communication and information whichever side you choose without resorting to underhanded tricks and deception." ~Jeffrey Dela Cruz, FB comment on Freedom of Speech, March 8, 2017

"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom but oppressors, even after falling from their roost, keep opportunistic vigil as well." ~Joffre Balce

"Every woman that finally figured out her worth, has picked up her suitcases off pride and boarded a flight to freedom, which land in the valley of change." ~Shannon. L Alder

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances. To choose one’s own way." ~Viktor Frankl

"Everywhere in the world it is accepted that students, as a thinking and independent-minded section of the population, have the right to freedom of thought and expression of opinion." ~Nelson Mandela in a statement issued at the All-In-African National Action Council, 5 September 1961, LivingTheLegacy

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." ~Nelson Mandela

"Forgiveness is just another name for freedom." ~Byron Katie

"Freedom and victory belong to those who remain true and strong despite temptation to be dishonest and weak." ~Brendon Burchard

"Freedom is a condition of your heart. You can be captive amidst great wealth and free behind bars. Do your fears, insecurities, beliefs and programs still control the way you choose to spend your days? The true freedom in life is feeling free to think, act and speak according to the dictates of your heart. So liberate your spirit from self-censure, self-judgment and anything other than appreciation of self. Take a few minutes to appreciate the beautiful and courageous soul that you truly are. And then if you want to liberate your soul even further take a few minutes to think of someone you'd rather not and find a way to appreciate them. This freedom to find loving allowance for all is truly the greatest liberty of all." ~Ann Albers

"Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash." ~Sarah Bolen

"Freedom is an illusion. It always comes at a price." ~Jonathan Stroud

"Freedom is being yourself without permission." ~Positivity, Love and All Things Good

"Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free." ~John F. Kennedy

"Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food in their stomachs, if they can have no shelter, if illiteracy and disease continue to dog them." ~Nelson Mandela from an interview, circa 1994, LTL

"Freedom is never given; it is won." ~A. Philip Randolph 

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." ~Ronald Reagan

"Freedom is not only the absence of being in jail, just as it is always said that peace is not merely the absence of war." ~Nelson Mandela from an interview with Lorie Karnath for Nobel Laureates, April 2004 ‪LTL

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err." ~Mahatma Gandhi

"Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." ~Albert Camus

"Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity." ~Herbert Hoover

"Freedom is the oxygen for our soul." ~Flowers and Butterflies

"Freedom lies in being bold." ~Robert Frost

"Freedom may come quickly in robes of peace or after ages of conflict and war, but come it will, and abide it will, so long as the principles by which it was acquired are held sacred." ~Edward Everett

"Freedom of expression---and the exercise thereof---has to be nurtured with Wisdom." ~Teng Catong

"Freedom of opinion ends where criminal law begins." ~German Justice Minister

"Freedom of speech comes with consequences. If you can't handle the consequences of your speech, then don't speak. But if you want to speak in public, grow a damn spine. That's not a false dilemma but reality." ~Sass Rogando Sasot

"Freedom of speech is a defense against the government. It is not an immunity from the consequences of that speech from people you offend." ~Darwin Cañete

"Freedom of speech means freedom for those who you despise, and freedom to express the most despicable views. It also means that the government cannot pick and choose which expressions to authorize and which to prevent." ~Alan Dershowitz

"Freedom should not be understood to mean leadership positions or even appointments to top positions. It must be understood as the transformation of the lives of ordinary people in the hostels and the ghettos, in the squatter camps, on the farms and in the mine compounds." ~Nelson Mandela during an Address to the Leaders of the Free State Province, South Africa, 17 September 1994, LivingTheLegacy

"God gave the animals freedom. Man gave the animals cages, pens, aquariums, and zoos." ~A.D. Williams

"Grace is the beauty of form under the influence of freedom." ~Friedrich Schiller

"Holiness is not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation." ~G. Campbell Morgan

“How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies." ~Archibald MacLeish, Pulitzer Prize winner

"I guard my treasures: my thought, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of this is freedom." ~Ayn Rand

"I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free – free in every way that I could know" ~Nelson Mandela from Long Walk to Freedom, 1994, Living The Legacy

"If freedom was the crown which the fighters of liberation sought to place on the head of mother Africa, let the upliftment, the happiness, prosperity and comfort of her children be the jewel of the crown." ~Nelson Mandela speaking at the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) Summit, Tunis, Tunisia, 13 June 1994, LivingTheLegacy

"In a democracy, each has an equal right to be heard and an equal responsibility of mutual respect." ~Joffre Balce

“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

"It is clear that not in one thing alone, but in many ways equality and freedom of speech are a good thing." ~Herodotus

"It was this desire for the freedom of my people to live their lives with dignity and self-respect that animated my life, that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home, that forced a life-loving man to live like a monk." ~Nelson Mandela from Long Walk to Freedom, 1994, Living The Legacy.

"Just living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Andersen

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we can never be free." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"Life's true gift lies in your freedom to design it beautifully. With each rise of the sun, you get to chase the opportunity to fill your days with meaning—to live your life the way you choose." ~from Success dot com via Haizer Adrias Libcat, FB

"My most important project is building the habits that my happiness and freedom require." ~Yung Pueblo

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Not often enough do people recognize the efforts and sacrifices soldiers make so that the rest of us may live in freedom and peace." ~TJ Abat (28.1.18)

"On the other side of fear lies freedom." ~Anon

"One of the most important lessons I learnt in my life of struggle for freedom and peace is that in any conflict there comes a point when neither side can claim to be right and the other wrong, no matter how much that might have been the case at the start of a conflict." ~Nelson Mandela during a video message for the Signing of the Geneva Accord, December 2003, LivingTheLegacy

“Only he whose soul is in turmoil, forced to live in an epoch where war, violence and ideological tyranny threaten the life of every individual, and the most precious substance in that life, the freedom of the soul, can know how much courage, sincerity and resolve are required to remain faithful to his inner self in these times of the herd’s rampancy." ~Stefan Zweig, “Montaigne”

"Our minds tell us, and history confirms, that the great threat to freedom is the concentration of power. Government is necessary to preserve our freedom, it is an instrument through which we can exercise our freedom; yet by concentrating power in political hands, it is also a threat to freedom. Even though the men who wield this power initially be of good will and even though they be not corrupted by the power they exercise, the power will both attract and form men of a different stamp." ~Milton Friedman

"Peace. Freedom. The joy of living. This is what all animals seek." ~Anthony Douglas Williams

"People hardly ever make use of the freedom they have, for example, freedom of thought; instead they demand freedom of speech as a compensation." ~Soren Kierkegaard

"People unfit for freedom — who cannot do much with it — are hungry for power. The desire for freedom is an attribute of a "have" type of self. It says: leave me alone and I shall grow, learn, and realize my capacities. … Freedom gives us a chance to realize our human and individual uniqueness." ~Eric Hoffer

"Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." ~John Quincy Adams

"Real freedom is not something to be acquired, it is the outcome of intelligence. You cannot go out and buy freedom in the market. You cannot get it by reading a book, or by listening to someone talk. Freedom comes with intelligence." ~Jiddu Krishnamurti

"Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people." ~Nelson Mandela speaking at the Chief Albert Luthuli Centenary Celebrations, Kwadukuza, South Africa, 25 April 1998, LivingTheLegacy

"Simplicity fosters freedom, peace, connection and joy. Why? Because when you remove distractions and excess from your life – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually – you can focus on what is truly important, meaningful and essential." ~Lauren Jawno (5 Essentials to creating a peaceful lifestyle)

"The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in what we are free not to do." ~Eric Hoffer

"The fear of making a mistake is the door that locks us up in the castle of mediocrity: if we manage to overcome this fear, we are taking an important step towards our freedom." ~Paulo Coelho

"The free man is not he who defies the rules…but he who, recognizing the compulsions inherent in his being, seeks rather to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest each day’s experience." ~Bernard Iddings Bell, D.D.

"The freedom of information is key to a balance power between the government and its citizens." ~Martin Andanar, Secretary of Philippines Communication Office, 26 November 2016

“The freedom of the city is not negotiable. We cannot negotiate with those who say, 'What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable.'" ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"The freedom to choose is man’s greatest blessing and also his greatest curse, because we make stupid choices all the time that harm us and everyone around us." ~Rick Warren

"The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom." ~Georg Hegel

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first.” ~Jim Morrison

"The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it." ~John Stuart Mill

"The only problem with freedom is our tendency to abuse it!" ~Alvin D. Alonzo, May 4, 2017

"The revolutionary warriors in the past who fought for their ideology acted like freedom soldiers." ~Atty Bruce V. Rivera

"The secret of freedom, courage." ~Thucydides

"The supreme belief of our society is the dignity and freedom of the individual.  To the respect of that dignity, to the defense of that freedom, all effort is pledged." ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The word 'escape' comes forward, a channel leading you to freedom, a sky promising a fabulous future, a fantasy alien landscape to escape into." ~Gary Hayes, Sunrise at Bombo photo, 29 June 2014

"The world has its own ways of treating us like what we will never be, but want to be. It relinquishes its grip on our souls while lulling us with the songs of freedom and conquest of beauty. It magnifies every tiny bit of something useless over an unfathomable presence of humanity. And we all waste the whole of our lives standing in queue for gaining its attention to be abdicated as if we never existed in the eyes of our fellow men.” ~Annie Ali

"There are things you’ve been hanging on to that really are not useful and deprive you of your freedom. Find the courage to let them go." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"There are two freedoms, the false where one is free to do what he likes, and the true where he is free to do what he ought." ~Charles Kingsley

"There is no happiness without freedom, and freedom is not given to us by anyone. We have to cultivate it ourselves. Freedom from affliction, from fear, and from despair." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"They can take away our lives, but they can never take away... our FREEDOM!" ~Mel Gibson from the movie 'Braveheart'

"They only have freedom who ideally love freedom themselves and are glad to extend it others. They who care to have slaves must chain themselves to them. Those who build walls to create exclusion for others, build walls across their own freedom." ~Rabindranath Tagore

"They will never go gently into the night. There is no good night for those who betrayed and robbed the nation blind from Day One of its fight for freedom." ~Nelson Navarro

"Those who sought their own freedom in the domination of others were doomed in time to ignominious failure" ~ Nelson Mandela during an Address to the Joint Houses of Parliament, Westminster Hall, London, England, 11 July‪ 1996

"Time is a commodity we never get back. And when you know you have always given your all without regard for your own personal needs in the past, soar higher than an eagle can! You don’t owe anybody your freedom." ~Hedda Tady 

"To be, they mustI be free. Just like you and me." ~A.D. Williams

"Today, you can decide to walk in freedom. You can choose to walk differently. You can walk as a free person, enjoying every step." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"Transparency advocates argue that the use of an alternative, parallel economy undermines democracy because it benefits a few at the expense of the majority". ~ICIJ

"True freedom and power only comes when one is free of attachments." ~Bryant McGill

"Truth gives no assurance of comfort. Nor does it guarantee freedom. It often jails people as much as it frees them." ~Bryan Ng Co

“Until the whole world is free to agree with you or disagree with you, until you have given the freedom to everyone to like you or not like you, to love you or hate you, to see things as you see them or to see things differently - until you have given the whole world its freedom - you'll never have your freedom. “ ~Adyashanti

"Vigilance is the price for our freedom!" ~Peter Tiu Lavina

"We do not want freedom without bread, nor do we want bread without freedom. We must provide for all the fundamental rights and freedoms associated with a democratic society." ~Nelson Mandela during his Investiture as Doctor of Laws, Soochow University, Taiwan, 1 August 1993, Living The Legacy

"We should never forget those on whose shoulders we stand and those who paid the supreme price for freedom." ~Nelson Mandela upon receiving the Freedom of Howick, Howick Sports Grounds, Howick, South Africa, 12 December 1996, Living The Legacy

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” ~Salman Rushdie

“When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves…Everything can be taken from a human but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. “ ~Viktor Frankl

"While people are struggling unhappily in the cities against the cruel authorities, a waterfall happily and cheerfully flows in the nature; there is happiness only if there is freedom!" ~Mehmet Murat Ildan

"Whoever will be free must make himself free. Freedom is no fairy gift to fall into a man’s lap. What is freedom? To have the will to be responsible for one’s self." ~Max Stirner

"Without the breath of real freedom we're getting nowhere fast." ~Sting 

"You can take away my freedom but my spirit will run free." ~Lenny Kravitz

"You preach about freedom as if you invented it, as if it is your gift to us. Let me tell you what freedom is. It is to live a life that is free from your selective moral standard. This is what the meaning of EDSA is." ~Mayor Sara Duterte to Socrates Villegas, CBCP

"You should enjoy the freedom. Sometimes a bit of time helps you see what matters." ~Raquel Geralde Villanueva

"Your life and my life flow into each other as wave flows into wave, and unless there is peace and joy and freedom for you, there can be no real peace or joy or freedom for me. To see reality—not as we expect it to be but as it is—is to see that unless we live for each other and in and through each other, we do not really live very satisfactorily; that there can really be life only where there really is, in just this sense, love." ~Frederick Buechner

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LIBERTY

"If Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." ~George Orwell

"Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance." ~Woodrow Wilson

"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth." ~George Washington

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit." ~Khalil Gibran

"Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive." ~Theodore Roosevelt

"Our liberty … is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress." ~John F. Kennedy

"The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty." ~James Madison

"The basic human rights for all our citizens have to be protected and guaranteed, to ensure the genuine liberty of every individual" ~Nelson Mandela speaking during a Business Leadership meeting, World Trade Center, New York City, USA, 21 June 1990, LivingTheLegacy

“This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither have they fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still.” ~Thomas Paine

"Wisdom is timeless. It can only be arrived at with discernment and the development of our consciousness to a level that understands paradox and true freedom." ~The Mind Unleashed

RELATED QUOTES

"Being able to be a free and critical thinker, who wants to share my views with others to prevent further sufferering in the world without being silenced." ~Farcue R Sole/Understand the Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth

“Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without it being praised. But some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.” ~Winston Churchill

"Our enemy today may be faceless. But we are undaunted even in the face of the unknown. We are a race of people with a long history underlined by our heroes' bravery, strength and determination to be free." ~Mayor Sarah Duterte, on Philippine Independence Day, June 12, 2020

"What is independence if the slaves of today shall be the tyrants of tomorrow?" ~Dr. Jose P. Rizal

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