I can never drive my car over a bridge without thinking of suicide. I can never look at a lake or an ocean without thinking of suicide.
Charles BukowskiRead
The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Democracy involves voting for leadership, while dictatorship bypasses this process.
This quote by Charles Bukowski highlights the fundamental contrast between democracy and dictatorship. In a democratic system, citizens are empowered to make their choice through voting before any leadership dictates policies, ensuring a level of citizen engagement and accountability. Conversely, in a dictatorship, the absence of voting reflects a lack of choice and freedom, as the populace simply obeys the decrees of those in power without input or consent.
Themes
DemocracyDictatorshipVotingFreedomGovernment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in political discussions about the importance of democratic processes.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes →when I am feeling low all i have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns
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The masses are always wrong...Wisdom is doing everything the crowd does not do. All you do is reverse the totality of their learning and you have the heaven they're looking for.
Charles BukowskiRead
I'm going to open another vottle. not a vottle, but a bottle. you open it and I'll drink it. and you try to write as much as I did without falling off of your chair.
Charles BukowskiRead
To experience real agony is something hard to write about, impossible to understand while it grips you; you're frightened out of your wits, can’t sit still, move, or even go decently insane.
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I lapsed into my pathetic cut-off period. Often with humans, both good and bad, my senses simply shut off, they get tired, I give up. I am polite. I nod. I pretend to understand because I don’t want anybody to be hurt. That is the one weakness that has lead me into the most trouble. Trying to be kind to others I often get my soul shredded into a kind of spiritual pasta. No matter. My brain shuts off. I listen. I respond. And they are too dumb to know that I am not there.
Charles BukowskiRead
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