I work for him despite his faults and he lets me work for him despite my deficiencies.
Bill MoyersRead
Democracy may not prove in the long run to be as efficient as other forms of government, but it has one saving grace: it allows us to know and say that it isn't.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Democracy may not be the most efficient form of government, but it gives us the freedom to critique it.
This quote by Bill Moyers highlights the unique value of democracy, which lies in its capacity to allow citizens to recognize and voice their dissatisfaction with the governance they experience. While other forms of government might achieve efficiency, they often do so at the cost of individual freedoms and the ability to critique authority, thereby making democracy distinctively valuable despite its potential inefficiencies.
Themes
DemocracyGovernmentFreedomCritiqueEfficiency
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, to emphasize the importance of democratic freedoms.
More from Bill Moyers
All quotes →This is the first time in my 32 years in public broadcasting that PBS has ordered up programs for ideological instead of journalistic reasons.
Bill MoyersRead
Capitalism is out of control, thanks in no small part to Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision which said that a corporation is a person, even though it doesn't eat, drink, make love, sing, raise children or take care of aging parents. You can't have a people's democracy as long as corporations are considered people.
Bill MoyersRead
I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one
Bill MoyersRead
When I learn something new - and it happens every day - I feel a little more at home in this universe, a little more comfortable in the nest.
Bill MoyersRead
Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts.
Bill MoyersRead
Similar quotes
My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance.
Abraham LincolnRead
If ever there were a place where people not only tend not to face economic facts, but it's almost their purpose not to face economic facts, it's Washington.
P. J. O'RourkeRead
Dictators fall when they're overconfident; they stay in power when they're paranoid.
Masha GessenRead
Watergate provides a model case study of the interaction and powers of each of the branches of government. It also is a morality play with a sad and dramatic ending.
Bob WoodwardRead
Freedom and the power to choose should not be the privilege of wealth. They are the birthright of every American.
George H. W. BushRead
To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public.
Theodore RooseveltRead