Americans have a severe disease - worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex.
Mikhail GorbachevRead
The world will not accept dictatorship or domination.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the universal rejection of oppressive rule by societies globally.
Mikhail Gorbachev's quote reflects the idea that people across the world inherently resist forms of governance that seek to impose authoritarian control. It suggests a collective value placed on freedom and democracy, indicating that societies tend to push back against dictatorship and any form of domination that undermines individual rights and agency.
In practice
In a speech about democracy at a college graduation, one might use this quote to inspire young leaders.
Americans have a severe disease - worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex.
Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant internal changes in the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep.
The soviet people want full-blooded and unconditional democracy.
To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals.
New approaches are needed, new orientations in both thought and action. We must make the transition to a new civilization...We are talking of a transition toward a new civilization. No one knows what it will be like. What is important is to orient in that direction... I am convinced that a new civilization will inevitably take on certain features that are characteristic of, or inherent in, the socialist ideal.
According to Lenin, socialism and democracy are indivisible.... The essence of perestroika lies in the fact that it unites socialism with democracy and revives the Leninist concept of socialist construction both in theory and in practice. We want more socialism and, therefore, more democracy.
I have an idea about voting, how about on every ballot we include "None of the above". People may laugh at that, but what that is, it is a vote of no confidence in your government and I'm willing to bet that in some elections, 'None of the Above' would win. Imagine if you won the election but lost to 'None of the Above'. Wouldn't that make you re-think your positions?
The new rage is to say that the government is the cause of all our problems, and if only we had no government, we'd have no problems. I can tell you, that contradicts evidence, history, and common sense.
Democracy is the most demanding of all forms of government in terms of the energy, imagination, and public spirit required of the individual.
The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power.
The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.
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