Arabs Quote by Gwynne Dyer
““What makes the Arabs suitable candidates for democracy is their heritage as human beings, not their specific cultural or historical antecedents.””
About This Quote
Source Article: Foreign Affairs column by Gwynne Dyer, 2020
Democracy suitability stems from inherent human dignity, not cultural specifics, suggesting universal democratic potential.
In simple terms: Human dignity underpins democracy.
Key Takeaway
Promote democratic values universally.
Themes
politics
human rights
democracy
culture
Mood
analytical
hopeful
Type
academic
persuasive
When to use this quote
- educational programs
- policy reform
- international aid
Key Concepts
universalism
political theory
humanism
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we nurture democracy respecting diversity?
- What obstacles arise from cultural differences?
A Different Perspective
Cultural contexts may affect democratic implementation.
![“For many years the stakes were clear. There were the Arabs attacking us and us defending ourselves, so basically there were no real problems [between the United States and Israel]. Now there are many small cells, and each of them can destroy on their own. Some can arrive at New York and kill…” quote by Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/92a/shimon-peres-1970_arabs_for-many-years-the-stakes-were-clear-the_45612.jpg)
![“The military profession, especially is the long-established great powers, is deeply pessimistic about the likelihood that people and countries will behave well under stress. Professional officers are trained to think in terms of emergent threats, and this [climate change] is as big a threat as you…” quote by Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/363/gwynne-dyer-29209_behave_the-military-profession-especially-is-th_143358.jpg)
![“It doesn't matter what we think we are there [in Afghanistan] for; it matters what they think. They think we are invaders.” quote by Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bb0/gwynne-dyer-29209_afghanistan_it-doesn-t-matter-what-we-think-we-are-t_264425.jpg)
![“The scientists are really scared. Their [global warming] observations over the past two or three years suggest that everything is happening a lot faster than their climate models predicted.” quote by Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/177/gwynne-dyer-29209_climate_the-scientists-are-really-scared-their-g_717337.jpg)
![“But we are almost certainly going to miss our [global warming] deadline. We cannot get the 10 lost years back, and by the time a new global agreement to replace the Kyoto accord is negotiated and put into effect, there will probably not be enough time left to stop the warming short of the point…” quote by Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e1e/gwynne-dyer-29209_accord_but-we-are-almost-certainly-going-to-mis_807382.jpg)
![“Never did anyone ever stay longer than ten years because the resistance grows fiercer as your presence grows longer [in Afghanistan]. I don't think we are going to be any exception. What made us exempt from history?” quote by Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6e1/gwynne-dyer-29209_afghanistan_never-did-anyone-ever-stay-longer-than-t_1571027.jpg)
