Robert G. Ingersoll Quotes

The government serves the people - not vice-versa.

... we, the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve.

Political positions do not belong to the officeholder; they belong to the people that place us in office.

Our democracy is predicated on the belief that our government should be accessible by the people. We cannot allow ourselves to give in to fear or shy away from interacting with the public.

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.

I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.

The way people in democracies think of the government as something different from themselves is a real handicap. And, of course, sometimes the government confirms their opinion.

Too many people in government seem to think they are above regular folks, and I said I would expect humility in the way each member of my team served- that they would recognize that the taxpayer is boss.

But in the end our government usually - not unfailingly - is responsive to the people; and usually - not always - will try to do what is right.

I believe that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe that government is for the use of the people, and not the people for the use of the government.

We have been taught to regard a representative of the people as a sentinel on the watch-tower of liberty.

Public officers are the servants and agents of the people, to execute the laws which the people have made.

In a democracy, people usually get the kind of government they deserve, and they deserve what they get.

A government as good as the people.

We must remember that the people do not belong to the government but that government belongs to the people.

It is the healthiest thing in a democracy when the people who are elected exert power.

Office holders are the agents of the people, not their masters.

Presidents come from the people and the should return to the people.

Every nation has the government it deserves. Toute nation a le government qu'elle merite.

Are the governors such exceptionally gifted men as to enable them … to represent the masses and act in the interests of all men better than all men would be able to act for themselves?

I am, as you know, only the servant of the people.

We" are not the government; the government is not "us." The government does not in any accurate sense "represent" the majority of the people

Government is the creature of the people, and that which they have created they surely have a right to examine.

I freely acknowledge myself the servant of the people, according to the bond of service -- the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am responsible to them.