That fact that Athens could condemn its noblest citizen to death did more than make a profound impression on him. It was to shape the course of his entire philosophic endeavor.
I'm going to fight for every citizen of every background from every stretch of America.
In a republic the first rule for the guidance of the citizen is obedience of the law.
As a citizen, you have a duty to ask what is true and what is false.
Forty four percent of Republican voters believe President [Barack] Obama was not born in the United States. They believe he is not a legal citizen of the United States. They believe his presidency is unconstitutional.
An Athenian citizen does not neglect his state because he takes care of his own household; even those of us who are engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics. We do not regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs as harmless. We do not say that such a man 'minds his own business'. Rather we say he has no business here at all.
Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process.
This whole business of documentary being a second-class citizen is bullshit. A documentary can be as interesting, as dramatic, as sad, as funny, blah, blah, blah, as a fiction movie. Or it can be as awful as a fiction movie!
I mean, everyone says Citizen Kane. It isn't that great, anyway. And Orson Welles I knew well, of course. He made other incredible films that no one would let him make, which were much better than Citizen Kane, really.
A citizen should render to the state all the services he can as soon as the sovereign demands them.
[Travel seems] not just a way of having a good time, but something that every self-respecting citizen ought to undertake, like a high-fiber diet, say, or a deodorant.
Every citizen, regardless of his race, creed, or color, is entitled to equal justice.
Twenty five percent of Israeli citizens are not even Jewish. Anybody can become an Israeli citizen if you qualify. Religion is not a criterion for citizenship.
The ideal citizen of a tyrannical state is the man or woman who bows in silent obedience in exchange for the status of a well-cared-for herd animal. Thinking people become the tyrants' worst enemies.
The first duty of an American citizen, then, is that he shall work in politics.
The Roman legions were formed in the first instance of citizen soldiers, who yet had been made to submit to a rigid discipline, and to feel that in that submission lay their strength.
The realization that I came to is that each citizen for himself or herself understands the economics, which is, "I better make more than I spend and I better put something aside for a rainy day, and I want to get a good idea about what to do with the surplus so that perhaps it can grow while I'm sleeping. " And that that's capitalism. Everybody practices it, but half of the country - those on the left - deny that it's true.
Will you be a spectator or a citizen? To make a difference in this world, you must be involved.
I am often asked what can people do to become a good global citizen? I reply that it begins in your own community.
I'm an average citizen and always have been.