QuoteProject
I'm for democracy, but imposing democracy is an oxymoron. People have to choose democracy, and it has to come up from below.
Madeleine Albright
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Democracy should be a choice made by the people rather than imposed upon them from above.

This quote by Madeleine Albright emphasizes that true democracy cannot be validly imposed by external forces or authorities; instead, it must arise organically from the will of the people. The essence of democracy is that it empowers individuals to have a say in their governance, making it crucial that the desire for democratic governance comes from the populace itself rather than being forced upon them, which would contradict the principles of freedom and self-determination.

Themes

DemocracyFreedomPeopleChoiceSelf-Determination

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech discussing the importance of voter engagement.

More from Madeleine Albright

I think women are really good at making friends and not good at networking. Men are good at networking and not necessarily making friends. That's a gross generalization, but I think it holds in many ways.
Madeleine AlbrightRead
My parents were of the generation who thought they were the children of a free Czechoslovakia, the only democracy in central Europe.
Madeleine AlbrightRead
I really think that there was a great advantage in many ways to being a woman. I think we are a lot better at personal relationships, and then have the capability obviously of telling it like it is when it's necessary.
Madeleine AlbrightRead
Well I do think, when there are more women, that the tone of the conversation changes, and also the goals of the conversation change. But it doesn't mean that the whole world would be a lot better if it were totally run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten high school.
Madeleine AlbrightRead
The main thing is to remain oneself, under any circumstances; that was and is our common purpose.
Madeleine AlbrightRead
You think that the heads of state only have serious conversations, but they actually often begin really with the weather or, 'I really like your tie.'
Madeleine AlbrightRead

Similar quotes

Yet when the blood of the sons of immigrants and the grandsons of slaves fell on foreign fields, it was American blood. In it you could not read the ethnic particulars of the soldier who died next to you. He was an American. And when I think of how we learned this lesson, I wonder how we could have unlearned it.
Bob DoleRead
Wrath, unlike love, is not one of the intrinsic perfections of God. Rather, it is a function of God's holiness against sin. Where there is no sin, there is no wrath-but there will always be love in God. Where God in His holiness confronts His image-bearers in their rebellion, there must be wrath, or God is not the jealous God He claims to be, and His holiness is impugned. The price of diluting God's wrath is diminishing God's holiness.
D. A. CarsonRead
You may feel overwhelmed by your own poverty and the labors of the day. But if you decide not to wait until you have more strength and more money, and if you pray for the Holy Spirit as you go, you will, when you arrive, know what to do and how to help someone even poorer than you are.
Henry B. EyringRead
For most gulls it was not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.
Richard BachRead
Whatsoever you can be you are. There is no goal. And we are not going anywhere. We are simply celebrating here. Existence is not a journey, it is a celebration. Think of it as a celebration, as a delight, as a joy! Don't turn it into a suffering, don't turn it into a duty, a work. Let it be play.
RajneeshRead
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.
William ShakespeareRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Madeleine Albright | QuoteProject