Elections:

• “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”
• “Every citizen of this country should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth, their vote has a much weight as that of any CEO, any member of Congress, or any President.” Barbara Boxer
• “Voting is a right best exercised by people who have taken time to learn about the issues.” Tony Snow
•  “The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky – they all turn out in one day.” David Byrne
• “Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.” Arlen Specter
• “I believe that voting is the first act of building a community as well as building a country.” John Ensign
• “Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed.”  DeForest Soaries
• “Young people need to vote. They need to get out there. Every vote counts. Educate yourself too. Don’t just vote. Know what you’re voting for, and stand by that.” Nikki Reed
•  “Never turn your back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!” Winston Churchill
• “Do the unexpected. Take 20 minutes out of your day, do what young people all over the world are dying to do: vote.” Rick Mercer
•  “Vote early, and vote often.” Al Capone

Democracy:

• “Democracy is not something that happens, you know, just at election time, and it’s not something that happens just with one event. It’s an ongoing building process. But it also ought to be a part of our culture, a part of our lives.” Jim Hightower
• “No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.” Kofi Annan
•  “So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we’ll be called a democracy.” Roger Nash Baldwin
• “Anti-democracy…is a virus that exists, and pro-democracy is the antibody to that virus, and I think we have to become vigilant, and we have to stay on top of the issues of democracy and freedom.” Harry Belafonte
• “The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual.” Edward Bellamy
• “Democracy is the ultimate, positive revolution because it gives each and every individual the power to control their lives. And we can work together to create a just, sustainable world.” Bill Blackman
• “The only title in our democracy superior to that of President is the title of citizen.” Justice Louis D. Brandeis
• “We preach the virtues of democracy abroad. We must practice its duties here at home. Voting is the first duty of democracy.” Lyndon B. Johnson
•  “I’d like people to be educated on the voting machines, making sure that our democracy isn’t being hijacked by computer technology. There’s no reason there can’t be a paper trail on those machines.” Eddie Vedder
• Democracy is about voting and it’s about a majority vote. And it’s time that we started exercising the Democratic process.” Debbie Stabenow
• “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity.” Naomi Klein

Politics:

• “It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs.” Albert Einstein
• “A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.” Texas Guinan
• “Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow. And politics is the bow of idealism.”Bill Moyers
• “The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.” George Washington
• “We must try again to be alive to what the people of our country really long for in our national life: forgiveness and grace, maturity and wisdom. …Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls.” Peggy Noonan

Leadership:

•  “I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?” Benjamin Disraeli
•  “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” Max DePree
• “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” Peter Drucker
• “The future started yesterday, and we’re already late.” John Legend
•  “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”  Oprah
•  “Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.” H. Jackson Brown

Social Change:

• “Guard your light and protect it. Move it forward into the world and be fully confident that if we connect light to light to light, and join the lights together of the one billion young people in our world today, we will be enough to set our whole planet aglow.” Hafsat Abiola
•  “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.” Kofi Annan
• “We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” Mary McLeod Bethune

Constitution:

• “The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.” Albert Einstein 

Few statements from NGO’s and United Nations Head:

• In regards to “empowering young people,” Ban Ki-Moon began by explaining, “Today we have the largest generation of young people the world has ever known…They are demanding their rights and a greater voice in economic and political life.”
•  “ActionAid supports a free, fair and multi-party democratic process in Myanmar. We welcome the recent signs that change is taking place in the country, and are hopeful that this signifies the beginning of real, long-term reform that will benefit the poorest people in Myanmar. “We believe it is critical for poor people to be involved throughout the reform process, which must be consistent, coherent, and properly phased. ActionAid International Chief Executive Joanna Kerr