--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite the dubious statistics ……" description: "\"Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.\" — Rory Stewart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg" --- # Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of… ![“Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.” quote by Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg) > “Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.” [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy, despite flaws, remains valuable and worth defending. **In simple terms:** Democracy is valuable despite problems. Key Takeaway Defend democratic principles. Themes politics democracy values citizenship activism Mood hopeful determined inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - voting - public debate - policy advocacy - civil protest Key Concepts governance civic duty ideology Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve democratic systems? - What personal actions support democracy? A Different Perspective Democracy can be imperfect and vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-thing-388770/) [Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite/) [Despite Dubious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite-dubious-3889013/) [Dubious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dubious/) [Dubious Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dubious-statistics-3889012/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) [Statistics Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics-democracy-3889011/) [Value Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-fighting-3889014/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [In a democracy, the one thing that cannot be done is to destroy its trust, its hope, its idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-heinz/in-a-democracy-the-one-thing-that-cannot-be-done-is-to-destroy-its/) [Teresa Heinz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-heinz/) > [Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/democracy-is-never-a-thing-done-democracy-is-always-something-that-a-2/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy. If you want to go towards democracy, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/the-problem-with-the-west-is-that-they-start-with-political-reform-2/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [When we define democracy now it must still be as a thing hoped for but not seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/when-we-define-democracy-now-it-must-still-be-as-a-thing-hoped-for/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing. What is necessary now is one thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/democracy-is-never-a-thing-done-democracy-is-always-something-that-a/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [It is not, perhaps, unreasonable to conclude, that a pure and perfect democracy is a thing not attainable by man, constituted as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fraser-tytler/it-is-not-perhaps-unreasonable-to-conclude-that-a-pure-and-perfect/) [Alexander Fraser Tytler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fraser-tytler/) > [In the world there is no democracy better than our democracy. Such a thing has never before been seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruhollah-khomeini/in-the-world-there-is-no-democracy-better-than-our-democracy-such-a/) [Ruhollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruhollah-khomeini/) > [So, Beav, tell me about yourself." "I'm Blue." "Sweetheart, if I had your dubious taste in men, I wouldn't be too happy, either." "My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/so-beav-tell-me-about-yourself-i-m-blue-sweetheart-if-i-had-your/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [It should seem that Negroes, of all Americans, would be found in the Free-thought fold, since they have suffered more than any other class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-harrison/it-should-seem-that-negroes-of-all-americans-would-be-found-in-the/) [Hubert Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-harrison/) > [I’m saying language is a passport. A dubious, dangerous passport too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xiaolu-guo/i-m-saying-language-is-a-passport-a-dubious-dangerous-passport-too/) [Xiaolu Guo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xiaolu-guo/) > [Man is constantly being assured that he has more power than ever before in history, but his daily experience is one of powerlessness. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/man-is-constantly-being-assured-that-he-has-more-power-than-ever/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [Sometimes it's a fraught, kind of laden world of performance that I think can be really dubious, but it's also super fun to almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/sometimes-it-s-a-fraught-kind-of-laden-world-of-performance-that-i/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [The diversity of India cannot thrive on facile attempts to create the homogeneous category of "Indian." Nor can it thrive on dubious attempts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/the-diversity-of-india-cannot-thrive-on-facile-attempts-to-create-the/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [It would have been easier to fight alone with inadequate forces than to have to accept...responsibility for our ally's lack of fighting qualities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kesselring/it-would-have-been-easier-to-fight-alone-with-inadequate-forces-than/) [Albert Kesselring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kesselring/) > [Writing is to descend like a miner to the depths of the mine with a lamp on your forehead, a light whose dubious brightness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/writing-is-to-descend-like-a-miner-to-the-depths-of-the-mine-with-a/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) ## More by Rory Stewart > [This idea that failure is not an option: It makes failure invisible, inconceivable and inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/this-idea-that-failure-is-not-an-option-it-makes-failure-invisible/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [If a relationship is going wrong, if a marriage is going wrong, the answer cannot simply be to say, 'You can't afford to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-a-relationship-is-going-wrong-if-a-marriage-is-going-wrong-the/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [ “He \[Babur\] was a ype of mastiff, bred to fight against wolves, dogs, and humans. . . . The mastiff is perhaps the oldest… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/he-babur-was-a-ype-of-mastiff-bred-to-fight-against-wolves-dogs-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The politicians think the journalists have power, the journalists think bankers have power, bankers think lawyers have power. The truth is, nobody has power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/the-politicians-think-the-journalists-have-power-the-journalists/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“I recited and followed this song-of-the-places-in-between as a map.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-recited-and-followed-this-song-of-the-places-in-between-as-a-map/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The Afghan government is much better informed, much more intrusive and ambitious than I had guessed. There are amazing craftsmen in Kabul but few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/the-afghan-government-is-much-better-informed-much-more-intrusive-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I have planted over 6,000 trees at home in Scotland, some of them oak. I'd like my children to be able to watch them grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-have-planted-over-6-000-trees-at-home-in-scotland-some-of-them-oak/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“Man's life is brief and transitory, Literature endures forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/man-s-life-is-brief-and-transitory-literature-endures-forever/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [If things are going wrong in a country, it's not usually that we don't have enough foreigners. It's usually that we have too many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-things-are-going-wrong-in-a-country-it-s-not-usually-that-we-don-t/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/for-politicians-to-be-honest-the-public-needs-to-allow-them-to-be/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“My feet beat out a steady muffled rhythm. My thoughts participated in each step, never getting ahead of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/my-feet-beat-out-a-steady-muffled-rhythm-my-thoughts-participated-in/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-left-things-out-my-motivations-my-history-my-emotional-responses/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I like connecting to places by foot, and I'm interested in experiencing how somewhere like Crieff connects to somewhere like London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-like-connecting-to-places-by-foot-and-i-m-interested-in/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [Religions . . . seem to avoid mountain passes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/religions-seem-to-avoid-mountain-passes/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) [Explore all 62 Rory Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## More Democracy quotes > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [There is plenty of time for Republicans to have a Macaca moment. But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 11,220 Democracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rory Stewart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy-is-a-thing-of-value-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Democracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy-is-a-thing-of-value-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy_2054623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.” — Rory Stewart", "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": "Rory Stewart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Despite the dubious statistics … democracy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy-is-a-thing-of-value-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/despite-the-dubious-statistics-democracy-is-a-thing-of-value-for/#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 } } ] } ```