The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual.
quote by Edward Bellamy

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I am doing my best to glorify the scamp or vagabond. I hope I shall succeed. For things are not so simple as they sometimes seem. In this present age of threats to democracy and individual liberty, probably only the scamp and the spirit of the scamp alone will save us from being lost in serially numbered units in the masses of disciplined, obedient, regimented and uniformed coolies. The scamp will be the last and most formidable enemy of dictatorships. He will be the champion of human dignity and individual freedom, and will be the last to be conquered. All modern civilization depends entirely upon him.
quote by Lin Yutang

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Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country.
quote by Maximilien Robespierre

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Democracy Today
Democracy today
Is democracy
Right for the Afghans or Iraqis
Unthinkable thought
Countries torn by tribalism
Certainly need a strongman
A one party state
Until institutions are in place
and people value
the principle of statehood
and take pride in their nation.
poem by Oskar Hansen

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When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.
quote by Bayard Rustin

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Roots of Democracy
true democracy
never conquers
by force... never
walks on the rights
of any human being
in the name of profit...
never excludes anyone
because they are different.
never panders to the big
at the expense of the small!
true democracy liberates
the human inside the human...
preserves dignity by equality,
allows questioning, and doubt...
true democracy cant be bought,
and cant be sold...
maybe now's the time to
get back to our roots!
poem by Eric Cockrell

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For us democracy is a question of human dignity. And human dignity is political freedom.
quote by Olof Palme

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In democracy
In democracy
Writ of the peole runs.
In democracy
Repesentatives should not
Called leaders.
In democracy
Representatives must not
Act as er whim.
In democracy
Representative should not
Show dictatorial style.
In democracy
Representative should not have
Arrogance of power.
In democracy
Treachery and
Ruthless decisions
Not good.
In democracy
The representatives
Should be sensitives
Towards sensitive issues.
poem by Gajanan Mishra

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Dignity
Dignity is what we want,
As human beings on this earth;
Dignity is what we can’t,
Give up anyway since birth.
Dignity is innate right,
God has bestowed man, He made;
Dignity is cause to fight
When employees get under-paid.
Dignity, all need always
At home, at school and one’s work-place;
Dignity for human race,
Men must guarantee all days.
Dignity in livelihood,
Receive should all citizens;
Dignity in dying too,
World must assure everyone.
Dignity is what we need
In life on earth and when we die;
Dignity is good indeed
For creatures born under the sky.
Dignity for man and beast
Is a must for all, west / east;
Dignity for anyone
Shouldn’t be denied, any time!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 12-26-2006
poem by John Celes

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Top-Secret Stuff Nov 12th,2012
Death-with-dignity is important if you get Lou Gehrig's disease,
You can't avoid the oncoming pain and there are no guarantees,
But death-with-dignity in Canada is completely banned,
By an executive order from the Ottawa command.
Both binding referendums and death-with-dignity are denied,
Is this democracy, dictatorship or Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
Why do our appointees and politicians just smile and walk away?
Why are media moguls so careful in what they write and say?
Top-secret stuff never mentioned in the obedient press,
Ideas about death-with-dignity are never expressed,
Binding referendums are the flashpoint of future change,
Why are they so difficult to arrange and why so strange?
poem by James Bredin

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Everybody's for democracy in principle. It's only in practice that the thing gives rise to stiff objections.
quote by Meg Greenfield

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What Democracy?
Media moguls announce our democracy every day,
It's only natural because this is Canada, they say,
Even though we're not allowed to elect someone to our Senate,
So much for our democracy on our Canadian planet.
And appointees to the Supreme Court come from a secret list,
So secret that we are forbidden to read, help or assist,
And death with dignity is completely and utterly forbidden,
They did it to Sue Rodriguez and the reasons were hidden.
We have no recall for drunken or idiot politicians,
These aristocrats can't be recalled because of their positions,
Therefore they want to maintain the political status quo,
So much for our democracy in this political game show.
poem by James Bredin

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There Is No Such Thing As An Individual
She looked at me
and asked.
'What is your answer? '
I was startled
and caught up short.
Simple question.
But I did not know
what the answer was.
'Who am I'?
I blurted out
vying for time;
I gave her my name
narrowing it to the millions
of Jim Jones in the world.
But am I my name?
She said
What else.?
'I am Hedi's Father
and Lisa's husband'
but before this response rolled away
into silence
I knew it wasn't enough.
So who else?
'I like hockey' I said
and knew even this
fell short.
How do I single out
the Me among millions?
What could I say
without out offering
fingerprints or DNA?
What would you say?
Maybe I should have given her
an address.
Only I live there.
But my address
is not my essence.
So who
in fact
is the I-
the me,
that I see-
as individual
and precious?
I really didn't
at that point
have an answer.
What about achievements?
.
How many individuals have
my job
and my name?
Fewer still.
This at least narrows it.
But then
the thought came;
I am not an individual.
I am the Me that
has a family and a history
a genealogy;
only me
has that.
I am not an individual
but a person
who can be identified
in the web of relationships
which surround me;
have surrounded me;
which in the end
have defined me.
I am not an individual.
I am all the people who
have influenced me-
nurtured me been kind to me or hurtful.
So there is then
this myth of the individual
which is not so.
But if this is not true
is it not so that much
of society and indeed Democracy itself
is premised
on the creating the conditions
for individual expression;
individual growth?
Is this premise correct
and the individual lives;
or is it that more real
is society and social relationships.?
So which is which?
But then again, one cannot touch society.
Confusing no?
poem by Lonnie Hicks

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So I think one can say on empirical grounds - not because of some philosophical principle - that you can't have democracy unless you have a market economy.
quote by Peter L. Berger

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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God, great principle of all minor principles, God, who is Himself without a principle, could not conceive Himself, if, in order to do it, He required to know His own principle.
quote by Giacomo Casanova

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Democracy doesn't recognize east or west; democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself.
quote by Shirin Ebadi

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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There are three principles in a man's being and life, the principle of thought, the principle of speech, and the principle of action. The origin of all conflict between me and my fellow-men is that I do not say what I mean and I don't do what I say.
quote by Martin Buber

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Is This You? Sept 18th,2012
You may have a chance between dying with chemo or cancer,
Not a nice question, I know, so no need to come up with an answer,
Because in Canada, you are not allowed death with dignity,
Let's hope that your future does not have this indignity.
The lady dying of Lou Gehrig's disease asked but was forbidden,
Was refused by appointees whose decisions can't be overridden,
Therefore Canadians are forbidden death with dignity,
A graphic lack of democracy and all done instantly.
And when a problem arrives, it cannot be recognized,
Because everything is perfect and you didn't even realize,
And those who want death with dignity will have to go away,
Referendums are forbidden too but aristocrats can stay.
poem by James Bredin

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Pleasure Principle
THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE
Janet Jackson
Album: Control
You might think I'm crazy but I'm serious
It's better you know now
What I thought was happiness
Was only part-time bliss
You can take a bow
It was all just one big night out on the town
Riding in your limousine
We turned right, then I said wrong
Which brings us to a stop
As the light is changing
Oh my meter's running so I got to go, now
CHORUS:
It's the pleasure principle, oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh
It's the principle of pleasure, oh-oh
It's the pleasure principle, oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh
It's true you want to build your life on guarantees
Hey take a ride in a big yellow taxi
I'm not here to feed your insecurities
I wanted you to love me
This has become an all too familiar scene
It's not the first time I've paid the fare
Where'd you get the idea of material possession?
Thank you for the ride nowhere
And oh my meter's running, so I really have to go
CHORUS
I know what you mean to me
Baby this is nowhere
You what became between you and me
Human differential
It's the principle of pleasure oh-oh oh oh oh
It's the pleasure principle, principle
oh ohhhh ohhhh oh
You might say that I'm no good
I wouldn't trust your looks, baby if I could
I got too many things I wanna do before I'm through
It's the pleasure principle, it's the pleasure principle
It's the pleasure principle
Baby you can hold me down, baby you can hold me down
After all the love that we've been through
After all you put me through
Love me, love me
It's the pleasure principle
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
song performed by by Janet Jackson

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We have accepted the principle of democracy and we are committed to respect the popular verdict and the result of that national consultation.
quote by Mahmoud Abbas

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hypocrisy Nov 11th,2012
If we ever get death-with-dignity; we can then relax,
And not be afraid to face the unknown end-of-life facts,
We are caught in these circumstances whether we like it or not,
In location, time, language, religion and we are all caught.
Because our life spans vary according to each one of us,
But we can't choose death-with-dignity and we can't make a fuss,
But death-with-dignity seems to me to be a good way to go,
Otherwise you go to Switzerland and spend a lot of dough.
This gets more important as you get older and older,
Or sicker and sicker and they still give you the cold shoulder,
A graphic illustration of isolation in our democracy,
And they want nothing to change in their hypocrisy.
poem by James Bredin

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