The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.
Interpretation
Dictatorships thrive on secrecy while democracies should embrace transparency.
This quote by Niels Bohr highlights the contrasting principles between dictatorship and democracy. In a dictatorship, secrecy is often used to maintain control and power over the populace, stifling dissent and transparency. Conversely, a democratic society should leverage openness and transparency as tools to empower its citizens, fostering trust and encouraging active participation in governance. This principle underscores the importance of accountability and the free exchange of information in safeguarding democratic values.
In practice
During a lecture on government transparency, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of open governance.
When asked ... [about] an underlying quantum world, Bohr would answer, 'There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature.'
An independant reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.
Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
When searching for harmony in life one must never forget that in the drama of existence we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it.
Here in Minnesota, we don't only welcome immigrants; we send them to Washington.
I think that citizens should be skeptical of government power. But I fear it's bled over to cynicism. It is something that is getting in the way of reasoned discussion, and I'm very concerned about how to change that trend of cynicism.
A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.
No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. But when Governor Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy - well, you do the math. I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I'm President, I never will.
A political problem thought of in military terms eventually becomes a military problem.
If we let Korea down, the Soviet[s] will keep right on going and swallow up one [place] after another.
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