--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans are given the sole option of…" description: "\"Americans are given the sole option of electing their jailer for four years and sometimes do him the honour of re-electing him.\" — Che Guevara" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/che-guevara-2007_four_americans-are-given-the-sole-option-of-e_488737.jpg" --- # Americans are given the sole option of electing their… ![“Americans are given the sole option of electing their jailer for four years and sometimes do him the honour of re-electing him.” quote by Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/che-guevara-2007_four_americans-are-given-the-sole-option-of-e_488737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/che-guevara-2007_four_americans-are-given-the-sole-option-of-e_488737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/che-guevara-2007_four_americans-are-given-the-sole-option-of-e_488737.jpg) > “Americans are given the sole option of electing their jailer for four years and sometimes do him the honour of re-electing him.” [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Citizens elect leaders who may become oppressors, and sometimes re-elect them, highlighting a cyclical flaw in democratic choice. **In simple terms:** People can elect and re‑elect their jailer. Key Takeaway Question the power you grant. Themes politics freedom democracy Mood critical reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - election education - activist movements - policy reform Key Concepts authoritarianism civic responsibility voter apathy Questions to Reflect On - Why do voters repeat poor choices? - How can accountability be increased? A Different Perspective Critics argue the analogy oversimplifies complex governance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honour/) ## Related quotes > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [To us Americans much has been given; of us much is required. With all our faults and mistakes, it is our strength in support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-thomas/to-us-americans-much-has-been-given-of-us-much-is-required-with-all/) [Norman Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-thomas/) > [Americans have been given goals to achieve in Iraq, but not the standards by which to measure progress. And the only assurance Americans have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-kennedy/americans-have-been-given-goals-to-achieve-in-iraq-but-not-the/) [Patrick J. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-j-kennedy/) > [I like to think of myself as a 'Mord the jailer' type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-weiss/i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-a-mord-the-jailer-type/) [D. B. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-weiss/) > [“A prisoner is imprisoned by the crime that he has committed. A jailer is imprisoned — in the very same prison — by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-prisoner-is-imprisoned-by-the-crime-that-he-has-committed-a-jailer/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [A boy is a magical creature you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can't lock him out of your heart. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-boy-is-a-magical-creature-you-can-lock-him-out-of-your-workshop-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's about realizing, painfully, you've kept that voice inside yourself, locked away from even yourself. And you step back and see that your jailer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/it-s-about-realizing-painfully-you-ve-kept-that-voice-inside-yourself/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“The prisoner is the jailer's jailer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-prisoner-is-the-jailer-s-jailer/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Ah," said the jailer, "do not always brood over what is impossible, or you will be mad in a fortnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/ah-said-the-jailer-do-not-always-brood-over-what-is-impossible-or-you/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Cage of freedom, that's our prison; we're the jailer and captive combined Cage of freedom, cast in power; all the trappings of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-anderson/cage-of-freedom-that-s-our-prison-we-re-the-jailer-and-captive/) [Jon Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-anderson/) > [Church membership was so important that Paul and Silas baptized the Philippian jailer into the membership of Christ's church at midnight with Paul's back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-adams/church-membership-was-so-important-that-paul-and-silas-baptized-the/) [Jay Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-adams/) > [“I never said you were supposed to be a jailer, i only said a normal person would have questioned why someone would create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janette-rallison/i-never-said-you-were-supposed-to-be-a-jailer-i-only-said-a-normal/) [Janette Rallison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janette-rallison/) > [“She was prisoner to an old, forgotten god, kept from her home, probably never to see it again, and yet... the way she sat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-diemer/she-was-prisoner-to-an-old-forgotten-god-kept-from-her-home-probably/) [Sarah Diemer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-diemer/) > [I think filmmaking should be a wonderfully free collaborative process, and it so very rarely is. I often see directors as jailers of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-think-filmmaking-should-be-a-wonderfully-free-collaborative-process/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [Priests, kings, statesmen, soldiers, bankers and public functionaries of all sorts; policemen, jailers and hangmen; capitalists, usurers, businessmen and property-owners; lawyers, economists and politicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/priests-kings-statesmen-soldiers-bankers-and-public-functionaries-of/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## More by Che Guevara > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady, I am all the contrary of a Christ I fight for the things I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-am-not-christ-or-a-philanthropist-old-lady-i-am-all-the-contrary-of/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-know-you-are-here-to-kill-me-shoot-coward-you-are-only-going-to/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [Each spilt drop of blood, in any country under whose flag one has not been born, is an experience passed on to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/each-spilt-drop-of-blood-in-any-country-under-whose-flag-one-has-not/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We have no right to believe that freedom can be won without struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-have-no-right-to-believe-that-freedom-can-be-won-without-struggle/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [I am one of those people who believes that the solution to the world's problems is to be found behind the Iron Curtain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-am-one-of-those-people-who-believes-that-the-solution-to-the-world/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We will not accept any conditions from the U.S.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-will-not-accept-any-conditions-from-the-u-s/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [Let's liquidate all the atomic bases in Cuba and in the U.S. and we are in complete agreement with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/let-s-liquidate-all-the-atomic-bases-in-cuba-and-in-the-u-s-and-we/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [How is it possible to feel nostalgia for a world I never knew?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/how-is-it-possible-to-feel-nostalgia-for-a-world-i-never-knew/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [I have sworn before a picture of the old and mourned comrade Stalin that I won’t rest until I see these capitalist octopuses annihilated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-have-sworn-before-a-picture-of-the-old-and-mourned-comrade-stalin/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We sold sugar with the specific conditions established by American buyers, which in turn dominated the internal market and production in Cuba. Now if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-sold-sugar-with-the-specific-conditions-established-by-american/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [I think harmonious relations with the U.S. would be very good for us from the economical point of view, more than in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-think-harmonious-relations-with-the-u-s-would-be-very-good-for-us/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood… Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/my-nostrils-dilate-while-savoring-the-acrid-odor-of-gunpowder-and/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [In fact, if Christ himself stood in my way, I, like Nietzsche, would not hesitate to squish him like a worm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/in-fact-if-christ-himself-stood-in-my-way-i-like-nietzsche-would-not/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [Democracy is not compatible with financial oligarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/democracy-is-not-compatible-with-financial-oligarchy/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) [Explore all 189 Che Guevara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) ## More Four quotes > [With young kids (I have four including the newborn) times passes weirdly for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-s-kemp/with-young-kids-i-have-four-including-the-newborn-times-passes/) [Paul S. 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