If there is a mystical chord in democracy, it probably revolves around the notion that unexpected music can resonate from politics when people are pursuing questions larger than self... I have seen that ennobling effect in people many, many times- expressed by those who found themselves engaged in genuine acts of democratic expression, who claimed their right to define the larger destiny of their community, their nations.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the uplifting potential of democracy when individuals engage in collective pursuits beyond their personal interests.
William Greider reflects on the powerful and harmonious effects that democracy can have when people come together for a purpose greater than themselves. He emphasizes how genuine democratic engagement allows individuals to feel a sense of nobility and connection with their community, leading to a more profound impact on society as a whole.
In practice
In a speech about civic responsibility, one might say, 'As William Greider noted, when we pursue questions larger than ourselves, we can create unexpected music in democracy.'
To put a woman on the ticket would challenge the loyalty of women everywhere to their sex, because it would be made to seem that the defeat of the ticket meant the defeat for a hundred years of women's chance to be truly equal with men in politics.
For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.
We have been led to believe that we have come a long way toward world nuclear disarmament. But that is not the case. Our government is not doing all that it could. We must urge our leaders to fulfill the obligations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The United States must assume world leadership to end once and for all the threat of nuclear war. It is our moral responsibility.
When Estonia reestablished its sovereignty after a half century of successive thuggish, totalitarian, foreign occupations by the Soviets, the Nazis, and then again the Soviets, we knew we wanted to create a democratic country characterized by rule of law and respect for human rights.
Today's average American is more apt to rebel against a tennis shoe not coming in the right color than against the slow erosion of our democratic freedom.
But the simple truth is that we've lost control of our own borders, and no nation can do that and survive.
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