The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy - Bill Adler [22]
The big risk to democracy at home, as the senator has pointed out, comes when politicians put themselves ahead of the public interest or are not honest with the voters. Democracy’s lifeblood is an educated and informed electorate, able to keep track of politicians’ deeds, able to call them to account when they say one thing but do another. In that way democracy is dependent upon both a free press and the freedom of its citizens to follow their own conscience when those in power would have them bend to the majority’s will.
Democracy without human rights is the tyranny of the majority. That may be better than the tyranny of an individual dictator, but it’s a difference of scale, not principle.
Ted Kennedy was never one to shrink from criticizing an undemocratic action wherever he saw it, whether in foreign governments, in his own government, or yes, even occasionally in his own party, the Democrats with a capital D.
Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy. Deceit is a poison in its veins.
—Speech at the Brookings Institution,
April 5, 2004
The American people care deeply about human rights around the world. But they also believe that human rights begin at home.
—Speech, June 9, 1977
The more our feelings diverge, the more deeply felt they are, the greater is our obligation to grant the sincerity and essential decency of our fellow citizens on the other side.
—Speech at Liberty University,
October 3, 1983
[America is] not a continent, not an arsenal, not wealth and factories—but a democratic republic. Call it democracy or freedom, call it human liberty or individual opportunity, equality or justice, but underneath they are all the same—the belief in the right and capacity of every individual to govern himself and to share in governing the necessary institutions of social order.
—Speech, May 14, 1978
Community service is not a new idea in America. It is the essence of democracy. Throughout our history, we have dealt most effectively with the issues facing our country when we have come together to help one another.
—Statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing for the Martin Luther King Holiday and
Service Act, April 13, 1994
Citizenship is far more than just voting every two years or four years. The strength and genius of our democracy depends on the caring and involvement of our people, and we cannot truly secure our freedom without appealing to the character of our citizens. If we fail, we open the way for abuses of power in the hands of the few, for neglect of poverty and bigotry, and for arrogant foreign policies that shatter our alliances and make enemies of our friends.
—Address to the National Press Club,
Washington, DC, January 12, 2005
Public education is one of the finest achievements of American democracy.
—Press conference on the Bush
education budget, March 20, 2001
Hate crimes are a national disgrace—an attack on everything this country stands for. They send a poisonous message that some Americans are second class citizens who deserve to be victimized solely because of their race, their ethnic background, their religion, their sexual orientation, their gender or their disability. These senseless crimes have a destructive and devastating impact not only on individual victims, but entire communities. If America is to live up to its founding ideals of liberty and justice for all, combating hate crimes must be a national priority.
—Statement on Hate Crimes Prevention
Legislation, March 27, 2001
One of the basic assumptions of our political system is that large centers of unaccountable power are inconsistent with democratic government and the values of a free society. If there is a single theme that ties together the best in both liberal and conservative political traditions, it is this hostility to unchecked power. If the awesome power of giant corporations is no longer adequately checked by the discipline of the market, it is not just our pocketbook that is in jeopardy, it is our liberty.
—Speech, May 3, 1977
Public financing of elections