In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to survival.

China has to go along with world trends. That’s democracy, liberty, individual freedom. China sooner or later has to go that way. It cannot go backward.

This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew.

Democracy as a system has evolved into something that Thomas Jefferson didn’t anticipate.

The law will never make a man free; it is men who have got to make the law free.

He who would be no slave must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.

Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven.

Rebellion is what you make of it. When you’ve been on a tour bus for two months straight, and then you get in your car and drive wherever you want, that can feel rebellious.

No man is good enough to govern another man without the other’s consent.

In this business, by the time you realize you’re in trouble, it’s too late to save yourself. Unless you’re running scared all the time, you’re gone.

In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime.

Freedom is a right ultimately defended by the sacrifice of America’s servicemen and women.

If you look at the movie ‚Belly,‘ I identify with Sincere the most. I am a gangster. I love my lady to death. I’m not in the game for the wrong reasons. I’m not in the game for the glory. I’m in the game to survive so the people that I love could be straight. I’m a highly intelligent individual.

In all my wild mountaineering, I have enjoyed only one avalanche ride; and the start was so sudden, and the end came so soon, I thought but little of the danger that goes with this sort of travel, though one thinks fast at such times.

If proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream.

Freedom comes only to those who no longer ask of life that it shall yield them any of those personal goods that are subject to the mutations of time.

I confess I enjoy democracy immensely. It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing.

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin‘ hell, but as long as they ain’t free, I ain’t free.

I think the notion that we have all the democracy that money can buy strays so far from what our democracy is supposed to be.

In a democracy, in a functioning democracy, what would be happening is that popular organizations, unions, political groupings, others would be developing their programs, putting them forth, insisting that their representatives implement those programs.

Men freely believe that which they desire.

Responsibility is the price of freedom.

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.

I could have spent eight years doing anything, and at some level, it would have been fine. I could have focused on flowers. I could have focused on decor. I could have focused on entertainment. Because any First Lady, rightfully, gets to define her role. There’s no legislative authority; you’re not elected. And that’s a wonderful gift of freedom.

I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.

It is with your aid, as the people, that I think we shall be able to preserve – not the country, for the country will preserve itself, but the institutions of the country – those institutions which have made us free, intelligent and happy – the most free, the most intelligent, and the happiest people on the globe.

Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‚Ich bin ein Berliner!‘

I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.

I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free.

The world is weary of statesmen whom democracy has degraded into politicians.

America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children.

A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be democratic. No country can be really well prepared for modern war unless it is governed by a tyrant, at the head of a highly trained and perfectly obedient bureaucracy.

I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it – not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.

India is a democracy; it is in our DNA.

Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.

I’ve been through natural disasters. I lived down in Miami and was down there for Hurricane Andrew which was a Category 5. There were members of my family that thought they were going to die. Everyone was in the bathtub.

When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity.

Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost.

If you are living out of a sense of obligation you are slave.

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.

Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.

Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.

Let us ask ourselves, ‚What kind of people do we think we are?‘ And let us answer, ‚Free people, worthy of freedom and determined not only to remain so but to help others gain their freedom as well.‘

I don’t believe in guilt; I believe in living on impulse as long as you never intentionally hurt another person. And don’t judge people in your life. I think you should live completely free.

The spirit becomes free only when it ceases to be a support.

There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.

Consciously or unconsciously most of us adhere to what is expected of our role because we realize our social success depends on this. Some may refuse to play this game, but in the end they are marginalized and forced to play the outsider role, with limited options and decreasing freedom as they get older.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.

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

Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.

Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people.

The New Deal repudiation of democracy has left the Republican Party alone the guardian of the Ark of the Covenant with its charter of freedom.

Too many Christians live their lives like slaves – to the devil – because they believe his lies more than they trust God.

All of us are in the same place, each with our own rooms, and we were allowed to do whatever we wanted. Which is totally different than college, where they manage your schedule for you. In the NBA, you’re on your own.

Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering.

Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people.

We are proud of the history of our country; we learned it in school and have grown up hearing of freedom, justice and human rights.

Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go.

There is too much government today. We’ve got to remember the government should be by the people, of the people, and for the people.