It is the American vice, the democratic disease which expresses its tyranny by reducing everything unique to the level of the herd. – Henry Miller
Our authorities leave us no doubt that the trust lodged with the oligarchy was sometimes abused, but it certainly ought not to be regarded as a mere usurpation or engine of tyranny. – Henry James Sumner Maine
The transition from tyranny to democracy is very hard. The Syrian people have to handle this in a way that works in Syria. And the brutality of the Assad regime is unacceptable. – Jacob Lew
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home. – James Madison
All tyranny, bigotry, aggression, and cruelty are wrong, and whenever we see it, we must never be silent. – Ingrid Newkirk
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. – James Madison
There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice. – Charles de Secondat
Freedom is not won by merely overthrowing a tyrannical ruler or an oppressive regime. That is usually only the prelude to a new tyranny, a new oppression. – Jonathan Sacks
Let this circumstance of our constitution therefore be directed to this noble purpose, and then all the objections urged against it by jealous tyranny and affrighted superstition will vanish. – Adam Weishaupt
Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. – C. S. Lewis
The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. – Charles de Montesquieu
Any ideal system is its own worst enemy, and as soon as you start to implement these visions of grandeur, they just fall apart and turn into a complete tyranny. – Ben Nicholson
Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate. – Bertrand Russell
What the United States has done is to be open to people who are fleeing tyranny, who are fleeing danger, but we have done it in a very careful way that has worked for us. – Condoleezza Rice
The checks and balances is a way to prevent government from either devolving into an autocratic tyranny or an autocratic mob mentality. – Beau Willimon
If there were an exact and universal scale of punishments and crimes, we would have a fairly reliable and shared instrument to measure the degree of tyranny and liberty, of the basic humanity or malice of the different nations. – Cesare Beccaria
I often wish… that I could rid the world of the tyranny of facts. What are facts but compromises? A fact merely marks the point where we have agreed to let investigation cease. – Bliss Carman
The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny and enemies of freedom still exist. – Carl Levin
I just became what I call an ‘anti-fascist novelist.’ There is no word that covers both the fascists and the Communists, which mean different things to people, but of course they’re the same: they’re tyranny states. – Alan Furst