Edward Snowden Quotes

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

Our whole system of government is based on "We the people," but if we the people don't pay attention to what's going on, we have no right to bellyache or squawk when things go wrong.

Democracy is not a fragile flower; still it needs cultivating.

A government or a party gets the people it deserves and sooner or later a people gets the government it deserves.

Government is not infallible. Government is only an executive control, a centralized authority for the purpose of expressing the will of the people; before you have a government you must have the people. Without the people there can be no government. The government must be, therefore, an expression of the will of the people.

Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.

The government of the United States is a device for maintaining in perpetuity the rights of the people, with the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes.

Well, it's very clear that the Arab population is rising because they'd like to have a say in the running of their affairs, running of their government, and this is very legitimate.

I believe in the greatness of our democracy.

As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end.

When a government for the people becomes a government in spite of the people, then who are we really serving?

It's time for an American comeback... where leaders in Washington listen to 'we the people.'

The value of government to the people it serves is in direct relationship to the interest citizens themselves display in the affairs of state.

The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.

I believe the relationship you have with your government is not so different to a love relationship.

You should always be questioning your government, but do not become cynical.

It is the safeguard of the strongest that he lives under a government which is obliged to respect the voice of the weakest.

I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose interests in good government is less.

The great constitutional corrective in the hands of the people against usurpation of power, or corruption by their agents is the right of suffrage; and this when used with calmness and deliberation will prove strong enough.

Here's to democracy. May we get the government we deserve.

During President George W. Bush's two terms, you couldn't drive far without seeing a particular bumper sticker: 'Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.'

The American people need to know the truth. The American people need to see the truth. In a democracy, letting the people know the truth is the essence of what it means to be free.

All Americans value the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, and I believe this is essential for our continued way of life. But with this freedom comes responsibility. That responsibility has been abdicated here by some in the media and some in the government.

I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it.

Both the American people and nations that censor the internet should understand that our government is committed to helping promote internet freedom.