When a library is open, no matter its size or shape, democracy is open, too. Bill Moyers More Quotes by Bill Moyers More Quotes From Bill Moyers The fault line in American history is now a dividing line in the election and it's changing the conversation. Bill Moyers american-historyelection President Bush, whose scorn for journalists is balanced by a soft spot in his heart for the conglomerates they work for, threatens to veto the Senate action. Keep in mind that when the public was asked to submit comments to the FCC about consolidation, only one percent approved it. The President may not be listening, but the Senate is, and the public won this round. The House has a similar resolution under consideration. Bill Moyers listeninghouseheart I can't speak for a war that I believe is immoral. Bill Moyers speakwarbelieve The consensual seduction of the mainstream media by and with the government is one of the most dangerous toxins at work in America today. Bill Moyers mediagovernmentamerica Unless you're willing to fight and refight the same battles until you go blue in the face, drive the people you work with nuts going over every detail to make certain you've got it right, and then take hit after unfair hit accusing you of bias, there's no use even trying. You have to love it, and I do. You just hope it strikes a spark somewhere in the critical mass of public opinion and helps some people to resist further the seductions of political and corporate advertising. Bill Moyers fightingnutsblue Presidents are afraid to lose wars. They're afraid to be outflanked on the right by the militarists. They don't want to be seen as soft on either communism or soft on terrorism or whatever. So presidents are constantly tugged away from their domestic commitments to foreign policy. Bill Moyers presidentwarcommitment The massive upward distribution of wealth engineered by our political class over the last few decades has solidified the plutocratic control of the rule-making machinery in Washington and state capitals. Bill Moyers distribution-of-wealthpoliticalclass The thing about war is that once it's triggered, it is unyielding in its appetite. And the more it consumes and gorges, the more it wants. Bill Moyers gorgesunyieldingwar I was not a public - I was not a thinker. I was a doer. Bill Moyers doersthinker The Supreme Court consistently favors organized money and the political privileges of the corporate class. We have a Senate that is more responsive to affluent constituents than to middle-class constituents, while the opinions of constituents in the bottom third of income distribution have no apparent effect at all on the Senate's roll call votes. Bill Moyers favorspoliticalclass I can tell you that the job of trying to tell the truth about people whose job it is to hide the truth is about as complicated and difficult as trying to hide it in the first place. Bill Moyers tryingjobspeople I'm angry at what's happening to America and angry with myself that I can't do more. I would be miserable if I couldn't bear witness. Bill Moyers would-bebearsamerica I'm the front man, I'm the man on camera, but there's a whole team beyond me. Bill Moyers camerasteammen Lyndon Johnson was thirteen of the most interesting and difficult men I ever met. He could be as couth as he was uncouth, as magnanimous as malicious, at times proud and sensitive, at times paranoid and darkly uneasy with himself. Freud would have had a field day with him. Bill Moyers fieldsmeninteresting When certain causes become prairie fires, politicians make difficult choices, and often at the expense of someone like Jeremiah Wright and Walter Jenkins. That's the cruel nature of American politics, where the end becomes the consummate objective, and sometimes the means to get there come at a great price. Bill Moyers difficult-choicesfiremean When the public loses faith in democracy's ability to solve the problems it has created for itself, the game's almost over. And I think we are this close to losing democracy to the mercenary class. Bill Moyers gamesclassthinking The most encouraging sign is that 71 percent of the public believe the system is profoundly corrupted by the power of money. Ninety-six percent of the people believe it's "important" that we reduce the influence of money. Yet 91 percent think it's "not likely" that its influence will be lessened. Think about that: People know what's right to do yet don't think it can or will be done. Bill Moyers believepeoplethinking Our economy is a plantation run for the aristocrats - the CEOs, hedge funds, private equity firms - while the field hands are left with the scraps. Bill Moyers fieldsrunninghands Although I was brought up in a culturally and religious conservative culture, as a Baptist I was taught that no one has the right to subpoena your conscience. Bill Moyers baptistsreligiousculture The most important thing the giant philanthropies could do - Gates, Rockefeller, Ford, Open Society Institute, and new ones emerging - would be to create a $2-to-$3 billion Trust for Independent Journalism. They wouldn't miss the money, and democracy would still have a fighting chance because of their investment. Bill Moyers independentfightingmissing
