Quotes about society (5797 quotes, page 58)

“We arrived from being the most isolated and closed communist regime in the world to one of the most open. Today we have a dynamic market economy, a vibrant, creative society.”

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (1963) Mongolian politician

Source: "Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj visits European Parliament" https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/eu-affairs/20150605STO63234/mongolian-president-tsakhiagiin-elbegdorj-visits-european-parliament (9 June 2015)

World

“The call to abolish the prison as the dominant form of punishment cannot ignore the extent to which the institution of the prison has stockpiled ideas and practices that are hopefully approaching obsolescence in the larger society, but that retain their ghastly vitality behind prison walls.”

Angela Davis Are Prisons Obsolete?

Source: Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003), Chapter Four

Idea

“I still feel like a Jesuit. And I am grateful for what I received from the Society of Jesus. I would like to say to all Jesuits: Thank you, brothers.”

Milan Lach (1973) Slovak Jesuit and Greek Catholic priest

Source: Meet Jesuit Byzantine Bishop Milan Lach https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/09/04/meet-jesuit-byzantine-bishop-milan-lach (4 September 2018)

Feeling

“The sworn enemies of Hindu society have taken advantage of this enervation of the Hindus. They feel instinctively that threats coupled with some show of violence are sure to frighten the Hindus out of their wits, and make them yield almost anything including precious parts of their homeland.”

Sita Ram Goel (1921–2003) Indian activist

Source: Defence of Hindu Society (1983)

Feeling , Parting

“American society is increasingly a conspiracy of the smart against the dumb.”

John Derbyshire (1945) writer

Derb Quotes https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/derb-quotes-john-derbyshire/, National Review, November 20, 2003.

“We wish a great Poland, great with its achievements, culture, forms of social life, its position in Europe. The only way to gain this is by socialism accepted by society, constantly enriched by the everyday life experience.”

Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) Polish military officer and politician

Source: Excerpts of Martial law speech (14 December 1981)

Way , Life

“I suppose there were other institutions in Embassytown where the dynamic of the quotidian sustained—some hospitals, perhaps some schools, perhaps houses where shiftparents most deeply loved the children. Whenever any society dies there must be heroes whose fightback is to not change.”

China Miéville Embassytown

Source: Embassytown (2011), Chapter 15 (p. 213)

Housing , Children , Change , School

“It is not enough for the economist in a free society to be a good economic craftsman; he must also think and act as a citizen.”

Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant

Source: 1930s- 1950s, An Economist Looks At the Peace (1945)

Thinking

“[T]he Western European democracies... will be forced into totalitarianism unless they produce a noneconomic society striving for the freedom and equality of the individual.”

Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant

Source: 1930s- 1950s, The End of Economic Man (1939), p. 242

Democracy , Freedom

“When a woman can be empowered she can, they are very important people in our society, I call on women to enroll in large numbers in the colleges and Universities so that they can be the catalyst for development in our region.”

Irene Tarimo (1964) Tanzanian scientist, biologist and educator

Source: Speech at the Regional Event to the Farewell position of Vice Chancellor Professor Mbwette in Lindi, (21 December 2014)

People , Universe , Women

“It's our *white* responsibility to make sure people who speak out about racism are safe at all times. This means ending structural racism in our societies, authorities and media.”

Carola Rackete (1988) German merchant navy captain

Source: Twitter https://twitter.com/CaroRackete/status/1276803845465636864 (27 June 2020)

People , Time

“Indonesians must grateful for what the founding fathers have inherited through Pancasila, which stresses inclusivity in a plural society. In Indonesia, religion is challenged to learn from local cultures and not to underestimate humanity”

Adrianus Sunarko (1966) Indonesian Roman Catholic bishop

Source: Indonesian prelate becomes a theology professor https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-prelate-becomes-a-theology-professor/85179 (14 May 2019)

Religion , Learning

“I will marry the man of my dreams and not the man society dreams for me.”

Rita Dominic (1975) Nigerian actress

Source: https://dailypost.ng/2020/09/02/nollywood-actress-rita-dominic-reveals-why-her-marriage-plans-didnt-work-out/%3famp=1 Speaking during an interview with TVC.

Dreams

“Speak up against those who cannot speak for themselves. Let’s speak in the language of the youths. Visit schools visit hospitals. What assistance do we offer those who cannot help themselves? We should assist rape victims. We should be the voice of the society.”

Folake Solanke (1932) Nigerian lawyer

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/03/kidnap-of-schoolgirls-stop-paying-ransom-to-criminals-solanke-tells-fg/ Folake Solanke in 2021 speaking out against the ills in society.

Youth , School , Help

“Our society has so many issues, it is difficult to continue to reflect a sunny ideal when for many that is not the case,”

Ego Boyo (1968) Nigerian actress and movie producer

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/381261-how-nigeria-police-can-improve-image-through-film-ego-boyo.html Boyo talks about police officers acts.

“Art has a huge role to play in society and can be a catalyst for change and positivity if used in the right way.”

Stephanie Okereke Linus (1982) Nigerian Actress and singer

Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/exclusive-interview-with-_37_b_11591236 During an interview (December 6 2017)

Art , Way , Change

“The way we practice religion today poses security problem in the country. If we take holiness serious, we will be able to tackle the problem of bombings in the country. There should be no sacred cows in the society. Everybody should look for the common good of the masses.”

Ayo-Maria Atoyebi (1944)

Source: Probe retired generals, Catholic Bishop urges Jonathan https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/probe-retired-generals-catholic-bishop-urges-jonathan/ (21 May 2012)

Religion , Country , Problem , Way

“The Peace and Beauty of any Society is Dependent Upon Justice and Honesty at all Levels.”

Mirza Masroor Ahmad (1950) spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Others

Peace , Justice , Dependency , Beauty

“If I am law abiding and honour all the laws of a country, I am integrated into society. If I am serving the nation with all my potential and capability, that is integration.”

Mirza Masroor Ahmad (1950) spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Others
Source: Loving country you live in part of Muslim faith, says Ahmadi leader, The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/loving-country-you-live-in-part-of-muslim-faith-says-ahmadi-leader,

Law , Country

“Nobody had a clue what had happened, so the pundits were out in force, explaining how the riot was caused by whatever sociopolitical factor their latest book was pushing. It was certainly a searing indictment of some aspect of modern society—if only we knew what.”

Ben Aaronovitch book Rivers of London

Source: Rivers of London (2011; American edition title: Midnight Riot), Chapter 12, “The Last Resort” (p. 268)

Books

“As we pass on the memories of disasters and pandemics to our posterity, we can improve our preparedness for forthcoming catastrophes. In this way, we can help to build a society in which everyone, with no one left behind, will be able to enjoy daily lives filled with health and happiness.”

Naruhito (1960) Emperor of Japan since 2019

Source: "Emperor Naruhito delivers address at U.N. meeting on water and disasters" in The Japan Times https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/26/national/emperor-naruhito-delivers-address-at-u-n-meeting-on-water-and-disasters/ (26 June 2021)

Happiness , Health , Memory , Help

“We won’t even know if they've done anything, and so, they'll be dropped wherever the federal government wants to drop them, and they'll disappear into our society. We'll never know, until something bad happens, if we have a terrorist.”

Ken Paxton (1962) American politician

Source: Exclusive — TX AG Ken Paxton on Afghan Refugees: ‘We Don’t Know Whether They’re Vetted’ or ‘Terrorists’ https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/09/09/exclusive-tx-ag-ken-paxton-afghan-refugees-we-dont-know-whether-theyre-vetted-terrorists/ (9 September 2021)

“My secret weapon is my anger. That's what stimulates me as an artist. I want change. I want it yesterday. I'm pissed off at America. Society. American movies. American TV. American culture. American politicians. Capitalism. [...] Impatience and rage are always just beneath the surface for me.”

Dan Fante (1944–2015) American writer

Dan Fante [quote appears on Goodreads but does not state a source]
Unsourced

Secret , Rage , Change , Anger

“. . . I think that the instincts human beings have are actually much better than the societies that we have.”

Julian Assange book When Google Met Wikileaks

Source: Julian Assange, "When Google Met Wikileaks" (ORbooks, New York, 2014), p. 118

Thinking

“No need to be afraid of tidal waves; human society has been evolved out of 'tidal waves.'”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Source: Directives on the Cultural Revolution (1966-1972)

“Our society depends entirely on its technology. Change the technology, and you change the society. Most especially you change the ethics.”

Larry Niven (1938) American writer

Source: A Gift From Earth (1968), Chapter 10, "Parlette's Hand" (p. 174)

Dependency , Change

“Our people humanized the violent, inhumane slave plantation society that the British colonialists had established, (but) we are still faced with the insidious nature of a culture that is intended to dehumanize black people wherever black or blackness is found, and our parliaments therefore, while we shall be in the vanguard of removing all laws of discrimination, it is the mental emancipation that shall forever always matter.”

Mia Mottley (1965) prime minister of Barbados

Mia Mottley (2021) cited in: " Mia Mottley: Barbados’ first female leader on a mission to transform island https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/03/mia-mottley-barbados-first-female-leader-mission-to-transform-island" in The Guardian, 3 December 2021.

People , Law , Nature

“M.... used to warn me that I had one grave disability: I couldn't suffer fools—and their predominance—gladly. He was right and I realized that in society a fool had one great advantage: he was among his peers.”

Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794) French writer

Reflections
Original: (fr) M... me disait que j'avais un grand malheur: c'était de ne pas me faire à la toute-puissance des sots. Il avait raison, et j'ai vu qu'en entrant dans le monde, un sot avait de grands avantages, celui de se trouver parmi ses pairs. C'est comme frère Lourdis dans le temple de la Sottise.
Original: (fr) Maximes et Pensées, #197

Suffering , Fools

“The state shapes the society as much as the society shapes the state...”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

Constitutional Choices (1985), The Nature of the Enterprise, The Futile Search for Legitimacy

“We are living in the midst of a social revolution in our society. My heart's cry is wake up, wake up America, before it's too late.”

Anita Bryant (1940) American singer

Source: At Any Cost (1978), p. 145

Cry , Heart

“I would like everyone to understand that the Church in this society is not a foreign element but a profoundly domestic reality that truly wants the good for each person. We hope to find agreement and a suitable response from the other side.”

Josip Mrzljak (1944) Croatian Roman Catholic bishop

Source: Josip Mrzljak Appointed as the New Bishop of Varaždin https://ika.hkm.hr/english/josip-mrzljak-appointed-as-the-new-bishop-of-varazdin/ (2007)

Personality , Understanding , Hope , Reality

“[E]xclusiveness in a garden is a mistake as great as it is in society.”

Alfred Austin (1835–1913) British writer and poet

Source: The Garden That I Love (1894), p. 117.

“The provision of the wheelchairs would therefore address some challenges (for the disabled) such as integration into society as well as access to health and basic services and fill other gaps. We cannot talk about inclusivity if we do not empower people, at the grassroots level.”

Saara Kuugongelwa (1967) Prime Minister of Namibia

Source: Saara Kuugongelwa (2021) cited in: " Modern wheelchairs enables mobility, accessibility to disabled in Namibia http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2021-12/20/content_77940581.htm" in China.org.cn, 20 December 2021.

People , Health

“It is only through engagement, exposure to services, dialogue, we will enable people with disabilities to influence our development and that of the overall society. The time has come for people with disabilities to pursue leadership and run businesses.”

Alexia Manombe-Ncube (1964) Namibian politician

Source: Alexia Manombe-Ncube (2021) cited in: " Modern wheelchairs enables mobility, accessibility to disabled in Namibia http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2021-12/20/content_77940581.htm" in China.org.cn, 20 December 2021.

People , Time , Business

“Freedom of expression is one of the foundations of our society. Everyone is free to express their opinion. But our society will never accept indiscriminate violence, and even less towards our police forces.”

Alexander De Croo (1975) Belgian politician

Source: Alexander De Croo (2022) cited in: " Clashes as tens of thousands protest Covid rules in Belgium https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2022/01/24/clashes-as-tens-of-thousands-protest-covid-rules-in-belgium/2037074" in Malay Mail, 24 January 2022.

Freedom

“Work for the construction of a more just society, where there are job opportunities for all and fair wages, to avoid the temptation to get easy money. You have to raise your voice: we must not get used to living in a climate of violence, this leads to indifference.”

Miguel Ángel Alba Díaz (1951) Mexican Roman Catholic bishop

Source: Corrupt policemen and climate of mistrust, the Bishop of La Paz denounces the silence of the authorities http://fides.org/en/news/36508-AMERICA_MEXICO_Corrupt_policemen_and_climate_of_mistrust_the_Bishop_of_La_Paz_denounces_the_silence_of_the_authorities (9 October 2014)

Money , Indifference

“The world's biggest problem is not sexism, racism, political polarization, war, or income inequality. The key never-ending crisis is that most people can’t or won’t think. Poor thinking skills cut cross all the usual lines to drag down societies like nothing else. Thinking well could alleviate or solve virtually all our problems.”

Guy P. Harrison (1963) American skeptic author

War , People , World , Problem

“The Church has two missions. Its first mission is to address its own members; not just those who were baptised but also those who after being baptised have chosen to embrace the Church's teachings and embark on a spiritual journey that passes through the Church. When I speak as the bishop of these people I have to put everything in the light of the Gospel. When I speak to society at large, and I know there are people who embrace this position and others who don't, I have a duty to pass on the Church's message.”

Paul Cremona (1946) Catholic archbishop

Source: Lead us not into temptation https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/lead-us-not-into-temptation.314940 (27 June 2010)

Light , People

“Here is the root of all romanticism: that man, the individual, is an infinite reservoir of possibilities; and if you can so rearrange society by the destruction of oppressive order then these possibilities will have a chance and you will het Progress. One can define the classical quite clearly as the exact opposite to this. Man is an extraordinary fixed and limited animal whose nature is absolutely constant. It is only by tradition and organization that anything decent can be got out of him.”

T. E. Hulme (1883–1917) English Imagist poet and critic

Source: Speculations (Essays, 1924)

Chance , Nature , Animals

“The secret of American schooling is that it doesn't teach the way children learn, and it isn't supposed to; school was engineered to serve a concealed command economy and a deliberately re-stratified social order. It wasn't made for the benefit of kids and families as those individuals and institutions would define their own needs. School is the first impression children get of organized society; like most first impressions, it is the lasting one. Life according to school is dull and stupid, only consumption promises relief: Coke, Big Macs, fashion jeans, that's where real meaning is found, that is the classroom's lesson, however indirectly delivered.”

John Taylor Gatto book The Underground History of American Education

Source: The Underground History of American Education: An Intimate Investigation Into the Prison of Modern Schooling (2001), pp. 105-106

Fashion , Life , Children , Learning

“My opinion is that the best law is an education of quality, that begins in the family, grows at school and finds in society a stimulus for the formation of people. We are greatly lacking in civic friendship, we look at one another as mad people and not as brethren or as people who share the same ideal, the same purpose.”

Ricardo Ezzati (1942) archbishop and cardinal

Source: Chile – Cardinal Ezzati: Reparation Eucharist https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/1167-chile-cardinal-ezzati-reparation-eucharist-at-gratitud-nacionain-this-l (13 June 2016)

Friendship , People , Education , Madness

“Compassion for other human beings has to extend to the society that’s been grinding the powerless under its heel. The more civilized the society becomes, the more humane it becomes; the more it can see its own humanity, the more it sees the ways in which its humanity has been behaving inhumanly. This injustice of the world inspires a rage so intense that to express it fully would require homicidal action; it’s self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage. Simply put, I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness.”

Sidney Poitier (1927) American-born Bahamian actor, film director, author, and diplomat

Variant: I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. There is a certain anger; it reaches such intensity that to express it fully would require homicidal rage — self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage — and its flame burns because the world is so unjust. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness.
Source: The Measure of a Man (2000)

Learning , Rage , World , Forgiveness

“The ideological and political work of each political factor must be direct and immediate. In national life, each environment must perform its inherent function within such limits, forms and means that it can achieve on its own and which correspond to its real influences in Ukrainian society. Every serious environment must operate under all internal and external conditions, regardless of other factors.”

Stepan Bandera (1909–1959) Ukrainian anti-communist

Source: "For a Complete Political Structure" (1958)

Life

“I want to create new educational and work opportunities for young professionals in our country. I want them to gain experience and to become educated and trained to be owners and managers of all sectors of our society. While, at this time, we must rely on foreign know-how in the oil and gas sectors, the ground must be readied now for young Guyanese to assume those positions, regardless of their race, color or creed.”

Irfaan Ali (1980) President of Guyana

Source: Irfaan Ali (2022) cited in: " President pledges more oil and gas scholarships https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/01/01/news/guyana/president-pledges-more-oil-and-gas-scholarships/" in Stabroek News, 1 January 2022.

Training , Education , Time , Country

“If you believe in the slippery slope here, it means that our entire society is perched on the slippery slope. It means that regulation has no value whatsoever, and that is not true.
Now, there are always consequences. We allow 16-year-olds to get driver's licenses, and a lot of them have accidents - but do we rescind the permission to drive a car at 16? No.”

Christopher Reeve (1952–2004) actor, director, producer, screenwriter

Source: "Testimony in favor of funding human cloning experiments" http://www.chrisreevehomepage.com/sp-testimony-bill1758.html [S. 1758 Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001] (Senate - March 5, 2002)

Cars

“[T]he main work of life lies in carrying on worthily the great common task of civilization: to play one's due part in the enterprise of feeding some hundreds of millions of men, in seeing that they are protected against violence and fraud, that they have access to justice, and as far as may be to education, that they have some freedom to pursue life and happiness, and are not cut off altogether from the wonders and beauties of the world and the mind of man. To succeed in doing this is civilization: to fail is the defeat of civilization. For civilization is, ultimately, the process whereby a human society in search, as Aristotle puts it, of a "good life for man", gradually overcomes the obstacles, material and other, that stand in its way and makes man increasingly master of his environment.”

Gilbert Murray (1866–1957) Anglo-Australian scholar

1920s, The Ordeal of This Generation: The War, the League and the Future (1929)
Source: "Peace and Strife as Elements in Life: The Ideal of “Unhindered Activity”", pp. 37-38

Search , Fraud , Life , Men

“The Catholic Church is not the religious function of a given political society. It is a communion of an order quite different from what national belonging or the framework of the law can provide, a communion open to all.”

Éric de Moulins-Beaufort (1962) French archbishop

Source: Catholic archbishop: ‘The Church in France is jostled from many sides’ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholic-archbishop-ric-de-moulins-beaufort-the-church-in-france-is-jostled-from-many-sides-56097 (December 19, 2020)

Law

“May you remember, that the liberty which was acquired for you by your ancestors will be required of you by your descendants: then will you agree to a temperate and timely reform, reconcile the different classes of society, and prevent a convulsion which may involve all in one common ruin.”

John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (1792–1878) leading Whig and Liberal politician who served as Prime Minister on two occasions

1820s
Source: Speech to the House of Commons on Parliamentary reform, 25 April 1822

Time

“It's true that we mustn't and don't want to be closed to new contributions, but they have to be contributions that enrich our society, not impoverish it.”

Camillo Ruini (1931) Catholic cardinal

Source: Interview with Angelo Bagnasco http://www.30giorni.it/articoli_id_13527_l3.htm (2007)

“The Leadership legends have the air of a myth concocted to justify their place in society.”

N. K. Jemisin book The Obelisk Gate

Source: The Obelisk Gate (2016), Chapter 6 “you commit to the cause” (p. 91)

“I aim not at getting honour but at contributing towards making society and its people worthy of honour.”

- Goa

People

“We all work not for ourselves, but for the Kingdom of God. If we can make this great organization, which are the Pontifical Societies, a family, then they will regain its former glory and renewed vitality.”

Protase Rugambwa (1960) Tanzanian bishop

Archbishop Rugambwa: "the PMS are one of the most important and relevant instruments in order to hold high the priority of the Missio ad Gentes in the local Churches" http://www.fides.org/en/news/35667-VATICAN_Archbishop_Rugambwa_the_PMS_are_one_of_the_most_important_and_relevant_instruments_in_order_to_hold_high_the_priority_of_the_Missio_ad_Gentes_in_the_local_Churches (6 May 2014)

Family , God

“There are essentially two types of society: mixed economies with public checks and balances, and oligarchies that dismantle and privatize the state, taking over its monetary and credit system, the land and basic infrastructure to enrich themselves but choking the economy, not helping it grow.”

Michael Hudson (economist) (1939) American economist

Source: The Destiny of Civilization https://michael-hudson.com/2022/05/the-destiny-of-civilization/, May 15, 2022

Help

“America must offer meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation to empower those who have been incarcerated to become productive, law-abiding, members of society, and reduce crime and make our communities safer.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Expands Second Chance Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Persons https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-expands-second-chance-opportunities-for-formerly-incarcerated-persons/
2022, April 2022

Law , Communication

“Freedom of speech cannot be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination and tear society apart. We hope Sweden can earnestly respect the religious beliefs of minority groups, including Muslims.”

Wang Wenbin (1971) Chinese diplomat

Wang Wenbin (2022) cited in " Respect religious beliefs of Muslims, China tells Sweden https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220420-respect-religious-beliefs-of-muslims-china-tells-sweden/" on Middle East Monitor, 20 April 2022.

Freedom , Hope , Tear

“A civilized society is one which never ceases having a discussion with itself about what human life should best be.”

A. C. Grayling (1949) English philosopher

Source: Life, Sex, and Ideas: The Good Life Without God (2002), “Introduction” (p. xiii)

Life

“It’s okay to be a responsible member of society if only you know what you’re going to be held responsible for.”

John Brunner book The Jagged Orbit

Source: The Jagged Orbit (1969), Chapter 34 (p. 100; chapter title)

“It is not enthusiasm, but dogma, that differentiates a Christian from a pagan society.”

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) 20th century English author

Source: The Idea of a Christian Society (1939), Ch. IV, p. 59

“It exposed, I thought, a lot of aspects of this society we have which are not terribly positive — toxic masculinity, victim culture. Liberal hypocrisy, I think, was the big loser.”

Bill Maher (1956) American stand-up comedian

Toxic Femininity (2022)

Thinking

“Each bishop has his qualities and in each historical moment society needs different styles.”

Celestino Aós Braco (1945) Roman Catholic cardinal

The Chilean church has lost its credibility. Bishop Aos is hopeful he can change that. https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/04/12/chilean-church-has-lost-its-credibility-bishop-aos-hopeful-he-can-change (12 April 2019)

“As a society we have to be united and be honest, without depriving the most vulnerable of material goods, because in doing so we take away their hope, which is much worse.”

Celestino Aós Braco (1945) Roman Catholic cardinal

Floods and landslides: 12 dead and thousands displaced, Caritas at work http://fides.org/en/news/37551-AMERICA_CHILE_Floods_and_landslides_12_dead_and_thousands_displaced_Caritas_at_work (30 March 2015)

Hope

“We are deeply convinced that it is the parliamentary democracy that corresponds to the nature of the development of our society.”

Sooronbay Jeenbekov (1958) President of Kyrgyzstan

"Sooronbay Jeenbekov addresses 73rd session of UN General Assembly" http://en.kabar.kg/news/sooronbay-jeenbekov-addresses-73rd-session-of-un-general-assembly/ (26 September 2018)

Democracy , Nature

“We strive to build a prosperous society, which will be engaged in creative work, thanks to which citizens can have a decent rest, travel, and children have good health and receive a quality education.”

Sooronbay Jeenbekov (1958) President of Kyrgyzstan

"President Sooronbay Jeenbekov's address to the Nation in connection with the pandemic and the upcoming elections" https://mfa.gov.kg/en/Menu---Foreign-/News/News-and-Events/President-Sooronbay-Jeenbekovs-address-to-the-Nation-in-connection-with-the-pandemic-and-the-upcoming-elections (30 June 2020)

Children , Health , Education , Travel

“We, not just Ukraine but everybody, must make an effort to help the Russian population to direct their country back on the road towards democracy, how to develop democratic institutions and how to develop a living, sustainable society.”

Sergiy Kyslytsya (1969) Ukrainian diplomat

Democracy , Country , Help , Effort

“Ignoring the problem means abandoning the next victims to their fate; even worse, it means abandoning the core values that sustain Western society.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 15, “Dishonor, Death, and Feminists” (p. 232)

Fate , Problem

“In a clan society, every kind of human relationship turns on your honor within the clan; outside it, there is nothing—you are excluded from any kind of meaningful existence.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 11, “School and Sexuality” (p. 152)

“Because, you see, in our form of justice, we have rightly said that individual should not be made to fight alone. A harm against her, against him, against them is a harm against all of us as a society.”

Kamala Harris (1964) United States Senator from California

2022, June 2022, Remarks by Vice President Harris Announcing the Launch of the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse

Justice , Fight

“To build unity requires recognizing the central role of young activists. They are vigorously fighting the attack on this century's Reconstruction. Their anger at today's ugly society often translates into a passionate drive for unity across color lines.”

Elizabeth Martinez (1925) American community organizer, activist, author, and educator

De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century (2017)

Passion , Anger , Color , Fight

“Every generation is its own secret society.”

Kim Stanley Robinson book Green Mars

Source: Green Mars (1993), Chapter 9, “The Spur of the Moment” (p. 480)

Secret

“Well, societies without a plan, that was history so far; but history so far had been a nightmare, a huge compendium of examples to be avoided.”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Red Mars (1992), Chapter 5, “Falling into History” (p. 284)

History

“Mobilizing the efforts of the various strata and sectors of our societies could become a powerful driving force for progress in the fight against the AIDS pandemic.”

Leonid Kuchma (1938) Second president of Ukraine

Speech at the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly (excerpts) (2003)

Fight , Effort

“When women thrive, all of society benefits and succeeding generations are given a better start in life.”

Kofi Annan (1938–2018) 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations

Quoted in: Kabir, Hajara Muhammad (2010). Northern women development. [Nigeria]. ISBN 978-978-906-469-4. OCLC 890820657.

Life , Women

“What is democracy anyway? Is it having a vote every four or five years? No, it's not. It's your people having a say in the society they live in. And most of the American people have no say in the society they're living in.”

Mick Wallace (1955) Irish politician and football manager

As quoted in a speech on 8 June 2022, "'Couldn't Spell Democracy:' Irish Politician's Rant on America Resurfaces" in Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/couldnt-spell-democracy-irish-politicians-rant-america-resurfaces-viral-reddit-1722739

Democracy , People

“The over-bearing insolence of ignorant men, who had arisen to sudden wealth by successful gambling, made men of true gentility of mind and manners blush that gold should have power to raise the unworthy in the scale of society.”

Charles Mackay book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841)

Success , Wealth , Men

“Justice is not fulfilled so long as woman is unequal before the law. We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul. You tried that in the case of the negro.”

Frances Harper (1825–1911) American writer

"We Are All Bound Up Together" Speech (1866)

Soul , Justice , Law

“For this, if for no other reason, degeneration of creative ability in America has had ample support, and what nobility our society might still have is in danger of being submerged in overwhelming tides of rising conformity.”

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American architect (1867-1959)

A Testament (1957)

Support

“But soon this saving virtue appeared to me in our disgraceful dilemma: Realization that any true cultural significance our American free society could know lay in the proper use of the machine as a tool and used only as a tool.”

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American architect (1867-1959)

A Testament (1957)

Appearance

“We have everything for a still; I stocked the items to build one if a war came along—not just for us but because liquor is money in any primitive society.”

Robert A. Heinlein book Farnham's Freehold

Source: Farnham's Freehold (1964), Chapter 10 (p. 145)

Money , War

“Sadly, in any industry and in any work-related environment, females always strive to achieve a certain amount of perfection, whether that be skinny or pretty. It's a constant, in our society.”

Mila Kunis (1983) American actress

"Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis dish Black Swan" in sheKnows https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/820805/natalie-portman-and-mila-kunis-dish-black-swan/2/ (30 November 2010)

Perfection

“Who, or rather what, are Homo sapiens? The more accurate the knowledge about him, the clearer path for the further development of human society.”

Zafar Mirzo (1972)

Knowledge

“A meaningful life – is a productive life dedicated to the welfare and making society more humane.”

Zafar Mirzo (1972)

Life

“This is the threat to our lives. We all face it. We all operate in our society in relation to a system. Now is the system going to eat you up and relieve you of your humanity or are you going to be able to use the system to human purposes? … If the person doesn't listen to the demands of his own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going to have a schizophrenic crack-up. The person has put himself off center. He has aligned himself with a programmatic life and it's not the one the body's interested in at all. And the world's full of people who have stopped listening to themselves.”

Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth

Episode 1, Chapter 12
The Power of Myth (1988)

Personality , Life , People , World

“We have no shot at creating a thriving human society without seeing the truth. And we can’t create a thriving human society without making this a society that is conducive to people being truthful.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

People , Truth

“To the intellectual the struggle for freedom is more vital than the actuality of a free society. He would rather "work, fight, talk, for liberty than have it."”

Eric Hoffer (1898–1983) American philosopher

Source: The Ordeal of Change (1963), Ch. 12: "Concerning Individual Freedom". [In this passage "work, fight, talk, for liberty than have it" is a quotation of Lincoln Steffens from The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens (1931), p. 635]

Freedom , Fight