--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any country is either becoming more…" description: "\"Any country is either becoming more democratic or less democratic. I think the United States hasn't tended to its journey toward democracy in a long ti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/masha-gessen-2322_country_any-country-is-either-becoming-more-demo_3098298.png" --- # Any country is either becoming more democratic or less… ![“Any country is either becoming more democratic or less democratic. I think the United States hasn't tended to its journey toward democracy in a long time.” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/masha-gessen-2322_country_any-country-is-either-becoming-more-demo_3098298.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/masha-gessen-2322_country_any-country-is-either-becoming-more-demo_3098298.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd5/masha-gessen-2322_country_any-country-is-either-becoming-more-demo_3098298.png) > “Any country is either becoming more democratic or less democratic. I think the United States hasn't tended to its journey toward democracy in a long time.” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy is a continuum; nations move toward or away from it over time. **In simple terms:** Countries shift toward or away from democracy. Key Takeaway Watch for democratic erosion. Themes politics democracy governance Mood concerned analytical Type political commentary When to use this quote - elections - policy reforms - civil society activism Key Concepts Political theory civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens detect subtle democratic decline? - What safeguards protect democratic institutions? A Different Perspective Democratic progress can stall despite reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-democratic-251963/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-long-671941/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Journey Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey-democracy-5358396/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The country is not a democratic state. Therefore we fear that they might carry a recorder in their pocket or there may be bugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/the-country-is-not-a-democratic-state-therefore-we-fear-that-they/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [I think some people have blind faith in American institutions without knowing a whole lot about them and think they will stand up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-some-people-have-blind-faith-in-american-institutions-without/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [No democracy has ever long survived the failure of its adherents to be ready to die for it. My own conviction is this, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/no-democracy-has-ever-long-survived-the-failure-of-its-adherents-to/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [The fight for democracy is a long-term battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/the-fight-for-democracy-is-a-long-term-battle/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [We don't want to govern the country without democratic institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovenel-moise/we-don-t-want-to-govern-the-country-without-democratic-institutions/) [Jovenel Moise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovenel-moise/) > [People must learn more and more that the strength of this country is the democratic power of the trade union movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-foot/people-must-learn-more-and-more-that-the-strength-of-this-country-is/) [Michael Foot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-foot/) > [It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it; consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-is-almost-universally-felt-that-when-we-call-a-country-democratic/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [From that viewpoint, America, free country, democratic country, so more opportunity. Still is more sort of Alive. This is my feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/from-that-viewpoint-america-free-country-democratic-country-so-more/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [In my personal opinion, Russia is no less democratic than it used to be. It is a democratic country. It is democratic enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-abramovich/in-my-personal-opinion-russia-is-no-less-democratic-than-it-used-to/) [Roman Abramovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-abramovich/) > [I'm not for seizing power, I'm for justice in the country and for democratic elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/i-m-not-for-seizing-power-i-m-for-justice-in-the-country-and-for/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [I think we have very steady records of President Putin, who inherited the country with democratic values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/i-think-we-have-very-steady-records-of-president-putin-who-inherited/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [In our own country, we take democratic values seriously - and so we always have a vigorous debate on the issues. That's part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/in-our-own-country-we-take-democratic-values-seriously-and-so-we/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [“my career in public life, I have had the rare privilege of being a participant in many of the defining moments of our country’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pranab-mukherjee/my-career-in-public-life-i-have-had-the-rare-privilege-of-being-a/) [Pranab Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pranab-mukherjee/) > [I will not take 'but' for an answer. Negroes have been looking at democracy's 'but' too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/i-will-not-take-but-for-an-answer-negroes-have-been-looking-at/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/trump-like-putin-has-a-demonstrably-thin-skin-and-short-temper-when/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [You risk everything if you so much as join a legal protest demonstration in Russia. It raises the stakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-risk-everything-if-you-so-much-as-join-a-legal-protest/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Donald Trump creates word salads. 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They voted for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-donald-trump-was-brought-to-power-by-americans-they-voted-for/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/in-the-1990s-there-was-a-lot-of-reform-and-there-was-a-lot-of-forward/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. 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