--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is difficult to understand these…" description: "\"It is difficult to understand these people who democratically take part in elections and a referendum, but are then incapable of democratically accepti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png" --- # It is difficult to understand these people who… ![“It is difficult to understand these people who democratically take part in elections and a referendum, but are then incapable of democratically accepting the will of the people.” quote by Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png) > “It is difficult to understand these people who democratically take part in elections and a referendum, but are then incapable of democratically accepting the will of the people.” [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may vote but reject the collective decision, exposing a paradox of democratic participation. **In simple terms:** Voting doesn’t guarantee acceptance of outcomes. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect democratic outcomes. Themes democracy participation paradox Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - elections - referenda - public policy debates - community decision making Key Concepts social contract political legitimacy Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile individual freedom with collective will? - What mechanisms ensure acceptance of democratic outcomes? A Different Perspective Democratic legitimacy can be undermined by individual dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Democratically Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratically-accepting-723777/) [Democratically Elections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratically-elections-723781/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult To Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-to-understand/) [Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable/) [Incapable Democratically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable-democratically-723775/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Democratically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-democratically-723773/) [Referendum Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/referendum-incapable-723778/) ## Related quotes > [Good or bad people can be democratically elected, but it is always easy to fight for human rights under this system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asma-jahangir/good-or-bad-people-can-be-democratically-elected-but-it-is-always/) [Asma Jahangir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asma-jahangir/) > [What is difficult to understand is that without conscious effort, nothing is possible. Conscious effort is related to higher nature. My lower nature alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-de-salzmann/what-is-difficult-to-understand-is-that-without-conscious-effort/) [Jeanne de Salzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-de-salzmann/) > [If you've never lived outside London, and if you've always had a car, it's difficult to understand how dire bus services undermine your standard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/if-you-ve-never-lived-outside-london-and-if-you-ve-always-had-a-car/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [The problem is that people really just don't care and they have been "educated" not to care about the monetary system: that it's boring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-von-nothaus/the-problem-is-that-people-really-just-don-t-care-and-they-have-been/) [Bernard von NotHaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-von-nothaus/) > [I think, with any new product that's difficult to understand, there are always lots of questions and criticism. I think we have all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-spiegel/i-think-with-any-new-product-that-s-difficult-to-understand-there-are/) [Evan Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-spiegel/) > [“despite her being off-the-wall, difficult to understand, and a massive ball of tension, I loved her, goddamn it. I wanted to spend the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlem-dae/despite-her-being-off-the-wall-difficult-to-understand-and-a-massive/) [Harlem Dae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlem-dae/) > [“it is difficult to understand that not everyone in the world wants to be an American.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cumings/it-is-difficult-to-understand-that-not-everyone-in-the-world-wants-to/) [Bruce Cumings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cumings/) > [People in the U.S. always got to be spoon-fed. If it's something to difficult to understand, they don't give it a chance. They want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phife-dawg/people-in-the-u-s-always-got-to-be-spoon-fed-if-it-s-something-to/) [Phife Dawg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phife-dawg/) > [I think it's quite difficult to understand what kind of life a writer leads. They might be millionaires, or they might be starving people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-think-it-s-quite-difficult-to-understand-what-kind-of-life-a-writer/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“I'd always thought it was gaudy, but standing there watching him beside the gold and glass shrine, I realised that his was a candlelight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-pulley/i-d-always-thought-it-was-gaudy-but-standing-there-watching-him/) [Natasha Pulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-pulley/) > [“the seriousness of emotional deprivation: It is not difficult to understand how children who have suffered from malnutrition or starvation need food and plenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/the-seriousness-of-emotional-deprivation-it-is-not-difficult-to/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [People do not avoid the Bible because it is difficult to understand as much as because what they understand condemns their conscience and throws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/people-do-not-avoid-the-bible-because-it-is-difficult-to-understand/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [Most profoundly deaf people have speech that is very difficult to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/most-profoundly-deaf-people-have-speech-that-is-very-difficult-to/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [We are different. We are equal in every way but our voices are important to each other and our need to want to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/we-are-different-we-are-equal-in-every-way-but-our-voices-are/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [“One of Nature's deep secrets is the fact that the outcomes of the laws of Nature do not have to possess the same symmetries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/one-of-nature-s-deep-secrets-is-the-fact-that-the-outcomes-of-the/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) ## More by Jose Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 Jose Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is difficult to understand these people who democratically take part in elections and a referendum, but are then incapable of democratically accepting the will of the people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Saramago" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-people-who-democratically-take/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-people-who-democratically-take/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/jos-saramago-208_accepting_it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-peop_2467278.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is difficult to understand these people who democratically take part in elections and a referendum, but…” — Jose Saramago", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jose Saramago", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is difficult to understand these...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-people-who-democratically-take/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-is-difficult-to-understand-these-people-who-democratically-take/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```