“Democracy is like a tamborine - not everyone can be trusted with it.”
“The point is that television does not reveal who the best man is. In fact, television makes impossible the determination of who is better than whom, if we mean by better such things as more capable in negotiation, more imaginative in executive skill, more knowledgeable about international affairs, more understanding of the interrelations of economic systems, and so on. The reason has, almost entirely, to do with image. But not because politicians are preoccupied with presenting themselves in the best possible light. After all, who isn t? It is a rare and deeply disturbed person who does not wish to project a favorable image. But television gives image a bad name. For on television the politician does not so much offer the audience an image of himself, as offer himself as an image of the audience. And therein lies one of the most powerful influences of the television commercial on political discourse.”
“The seventeenth century is everywhere a time in which the state s power over everything individual increases, whether that power be in absolutist hands or may be considered the result of a contract, etc. People begin to dispute the sacred right of the individual ruler or authority without being aware that at the same time they are playing into the hands of a colossal state power.”
“It is really one of the most serious faults which can be found with the whole conception of democracy, that its cultural function must move on the basis of the common denominator. Such a point of view indeed would make a mess of all of the values which we have developed for examining works of art. It would address one end of education in that it would consider that culture which was available to everyone, but in that achievement it would eliminate culture itself. This is surely the death of all thought. This quote is taken from The Artist’s Reality: Philosophies of Art by Mark Rothko, written 1940-1 and published posthumously in 2004 by Yale University Press, pp.126-7.”
“The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinions? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up--ever--trusting our fellow citizens to join with us in our determined pursuit of a living democracy?”
“Now I ve been criticized for advocating that people push their boundaries because sometimes people get caught. Sometimes people get fired. Sometimes people lose their jobs because of pushing the boundaries too far, but it s an interesting experience. They found they didn t want to stay within those limitations that they were pushing. Once people find they can survive outside the limits, they re much happier. They don t want to feel trapped. So I think we can urge people to push the boundaries as far as they can, and if they get in trouble, fine; that s not too bad if that s what they want to do.”