Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal
Interpretation
Democracy thrives on the belief in the inherent worth of every individual and their equality.
This quote highlights that for a democratic society to function effectively, it is essential not just to endorse equality among individuals but also to hold a deep-seated belief in the value of every person. Without such conviction, true equality cannot be achieved, as it fosters an environment where each individual's dignity and rights are respected and upheld.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of civic engagement in a democratic society.
Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal. Cross cultural experience teaches us not simply that people have different beliefs, but that people seek meaning and understand themselves in some sense as members of a cosmos ruled by God.
A government is not legitimate merely because it exists.
Bigotry dwarfs the soul by shutting out the truth.
Call me Jonah. My parents did, or nearly did. They called me John.
In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are.
The intolerance of the few, or the risk of it, carries the day against the wider humanity of the many.
live in the space between chaos and shape. I walk the line that continually threatens to lose its tautness under me, dropping me into the dark pit where there is no meaning. At other times the line is so wired that it lights up the soles of my feet, gradually my whole body, until I am my own beacon, and I see then the beauty of newly created worlds, a form that is not random. A new beginning.
There is a corollary to the conception of being too proud to fight. It is that the humble have to do most of the fighting.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.