Quotes about Citizenship

I would remind my countrymen that they are to be men first, and Americans only at a late and convenient hour.

I was never molested by any person but those who represented the State.

To be a citizen in a democracy, a human being must be given a healthy start.

Politics is the participation of the citizen in his government. The kind of government he has depends entirely on the quality of that participation. Therefore, every single one of us must learn, as early as possible, to understand and accept our duties as a citizen.

In a democratic society we must live cooperatively, and serve the community in which we live, to the best of our ability. For our own success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others.

Each of us, ultimately, is responsible in large part for the welfare of his community, for the kind of government he has, for the world he lives in.

But the courage to go against a sweep of feeling, to be an awkward minority, to stand up and be counted, even when it makes one unpopular, is not as prevalent as it should be. We have a long way to go to achieve responsible citizenship and common self-respecting humanity.

People inside of belonging systems are very threatened by those who are not within that group. They are threatened by anyone who has found their citizenship in places they cannot control.

We must continually work to obtain and preserve the right to vote and future votes of babies in the womb, their parents, the sick, the elderly, the poor, all Americans.

Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in the desert.

The truest test of a democracy is in the ability of anyone to act as he likes, so long as he does not injure the life or property of anyone else.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.