Quotes about Government

I think our democracy has it exactly right: two terms, eight years. It's enough. Because it's important to have one foot in reality when you have access to this kind of power.

All of us who care about the world going forward would like to engage the government more.

The role of the church and the government are fundamentally different. The church must always show compassion - always.

I love theatre, but it is losing its value in Punjab. There are no funds or government back up.

If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.

I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label on their forehead: May be dangerous to your health. One of the most dangerous presidents we had in this century was John Kennedy because people said Yes Sir Mr. Charismatic Leader what do we do next? and we wound up in Vietnam. And I think probably the most valuable president of this century was Richard Nixon. Because he taught us to distrust government and he did it by example.

Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens found themselves suddenly in the hands of bureaucratic aristocracies. Of course, all bureaucracies follow this pattern, but what a hypocrisy to find this even under a communized banner. Ahhh, well, if patterns teach me anything it's that patterns are repeated.

In politics, the tripod is the most unstable of all structures.

A good bureaucracy is the best tool of oppression ever invented.

governments lie to protect themselves and they make incredibly stupid decisions.

There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengeance, never a hostage, nor a fortification against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences

It requires good government. That does not depend upon laws or precedent, but upon the personal qualities of whoever governs.