I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters - and the church does not speak for me.
John F. KennedyRead
Politics has long been a place where fear and loathing are exploited: fear of progress, fear of the unknown, fear of the other, fear of our own neighbors.
Interpretation
The quote highlights how fear is often manipulated in politics to create division and resistance to change.
S.E. Cuppβs quote suggests that politics exploits human emotions, particularly fear, to maintain power and control. By instilling fear regarding progress, the unknown, and differences among people, politicians can create an environment of hostility and distrust, hindering constructive dialogue and the potential for societal advancement.
In practice
During a political debate, one might use this quote to illustrate how campaigns can create division.
I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters - and the church does not speak for me.
I am mortal. I want the nation to get used to freedom before I die.
One of the statistics that always amazes me is the approval of the Chinese government, not elected, is over 80 percent. The approval of the U.S. government, fully elected, is 19 percent. Well, we elected these people and they didn't elect those people. Isn't it supposed to be different? Aren't we supposed to like the people that we elected?
Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege.
The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose.
The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them in parliament.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.