“We are the raison d'être of the entire system. We are also the employers of those in public office and in the public service. Why should we accept from them a discourse which suggests contempt for us and for the democratic system?”

— John Ralston Saul , The Doubter's Companion

"Criticism"
The Doubter's Companion (1994)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We are the raison d'être of the entire system. We are also the employers of those in public office and in the public se…" by John Ralston Saul?

John Ralston Saul 85

Canadian author and essayist 1947

Related quotes

“It is time to change the political discourse on globalization: trade is a good thing, but fair and sustainable development also demands public services, infrastructure, health and education systems. In turn, these themselves demand fair taxation systems. If we fail to deliver these, Trumpism will prevail.”

Thomas Piketty (1971) French economist

We must rethink globalization, or Trumpism will prevail (16 November 2016)

“Economic system of the US was created & designed before women had a voice in the public realm. We do have a voice now; it’s important that we use it not to fit into the system but to change the system. The main engine of our economy should be the care & nurturance of our children”

Marianne Williamson (1952) American writer

Twitter https://twitter.com/marwilliamson (2 Oct 2019)
Williamson's quotes in social media

“We must never forget that the NHS is a public service. It is a service used by the public and it is a service paid for by the public. … We must therefore never forget that is the duty of health boards - and of responsive government - to take full account of particular local views and circumstances.”

Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland

Principles and Priorities : Programme for Government (September 5, 2007)

“We have to demonstrate to the public that our commitment is protecting public services in the face of a spending contraction which is inevitable.”

Philip Hammond (1955) British Conservative politician

Guardian interview (2009)

“This is…how artists should be—we should be creators and also teach the public how to be creators, how to make art, so that we may all use that art together.”

Augusto Boal (1931–2009) Brazilian writer

Games for Actors and non-Actors (1992)
Context: Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see a dance piece where the dancers danced in the first act and in the second showed the audience how to dance? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see a musical where in the first act the actors sang and in the second we all sang together?... This is... how artists should be—we should be creators and also teach the public how to be creators, how to make art, so that we may all use that art together.

“The habit of using ardent spirit, by men in public office, has occasioned more injury to the public service, and more trouble to me, than any other circumstance which has occurred in the internal concerns of the country, during my administration. And were I to commence my administration again, with the knowledge which from experience I have acquired, the first question which I would ask, with regard to every candidate for public office, should be, "Is he addicted to the use of ardent spirit?"”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

Attributed by an unnamed "distinguished officer of the United States Government" in the Sixth Report of the American Temperance Society, May, 1833, pp. 10-11 http://books.google.com/books?id=h_c0wbAOQ5kC&pg=PA237&dq=%22The+habit+of+using+ardent+spirit%22.
Later variant: Were I to commence my administration again,... the first question I would ask respecting a candidate would be, "Does he use ardent spirits?"
Attributed

“We should embrace the disagreement that echoes in this chamber because this is the forum that the founders of our greatcountry envisioned. We should… no we are duty bound to enthusiastically avail ourselves it. This discourse is not idle chatter, but rather it is an adversarial system. It is a system that creates accountability in government. It creates a free market of ideas.”

Robert Agresta (1983)

Scribd:Robert Agresta Inauguration speech Quoted in Mayor & Council Meeting of January 2009 http://www.scribd.com/full/54569111?access_key=key-11gd71r31loly41co5n5

“Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for.”

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) mid-20th-century Governor of Illinois and Ambassador to the UN

Speech to the Los Angeles Town Club, Los Angeles, California (11 September 1952); Speeches of Adlai Stevenson (1952), p. 31

“From a strictly technical viewpoint, socialism is the principle of public service. In the final analysis every worker has the status not of a businessman, but of a public servant, as does every employer..”

Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) German historian and philosopher

Prussianism and Socialism (1919)

“It is said that the public is stupid. That's why those who hold it in contempt never dare to offer it something original.”

Isidore Isou (1925–2007) Romanian-born French poet, film critic and visual artist

Venom and Eternity (1951), Chapter II

“We are the raison d'être of the entire system. We are also the employers of those in public office and in the public service. Why should we accept from them a discourse which suggests contempt for us and for the democratic system?”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

John Ralston Saul 85

Related quotes

Related topics