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When A Library Is Open, No Matter Its Size Or Shape, Democracy Is Open, Too.
-Bill Moyers
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When A Library Is

Bill Moyers
...
When A Library Is Open, No Matter Its Size Or Shape, Democracy Is Open, Too.

Understanding the Quote: "when a library is open, no matter its size or shape, democracy..."

This quote by Bill Moyers reflects deeply on the theme of library. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Library, Democracy, Matter, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Bill Moyers interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers is celebrated for insightful thoughts on library and democracy. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Library
Democracy
Matter
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On The Eve Of The Election Last Month My Wife Judith And I Were Driving Home Late In The Afternoon And Turned On The Radio For The Traffic And Weather. What We Instantly Got Was A Freak Show Of Political Pornography: Lies, Distortions, And Half-truths - Half-truths Being Perhaps The Blackest Of All Lies. They Paraded Before Us As Informed Opinion.
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Reality
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White
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The Quality Of Democracy And The Quality Of Journalism Are Deeply Entwined.
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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.
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Media
America
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Powerful
Healing
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Thinking
Best Is Yet To Come
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America
Would Be
Bears
Sharing Is The Essence Of Teaching. It Is, I Have Come To Believe, The Essence Of Civilization...without It, The Imagination Is But The Echo Of The Self, Trapped In A Soundproof Chamber, Reverberating Upon Itself Until It Is Spent In Exhaustion Or Futility.
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Teaching
Echoes
Hyperbole Was To Lyndon Johnson What Oxygen Is To Life.
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Hyperbole
Johnson
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Library
Democracy
Matter
How Do We Protect The Soul Of Democracy Against Bad Theology In Service Of An Imperial State?
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Soul
Democracy
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Democracy
Veins
Mark
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Lying
Fighting
Media
Beauty Is An Expression Of That Rapture Of Being Alive.
Beauty
Expression
Alive
It's The People Who Are Doing The Nonviolent Organizing At The Grassroots That Make Me Think There's Still Hope.
Thinking
People
Grassroots
We Have To Face The Unpleasant As Well As The Affirmative Side Of The Human Story, Including Our Own Story As A Nation, Our Own Stories Of Our Peoples. We Have Got To Have The Ugly Facts In Order To Protect Us From The Official View Of Reality. Otherwise, We Are Squeezed Empty And Filled With What Other People Want Us To Think And Feel And Experience.
Thinking
Reality
Views
The Most Fundamental Liberal Failure Of The Current Era: The Failure To Embrace A Moral Vision Of America Based On The Transcendent Faith That Human Beings Are More Than The Sum Of Their Material Appetites, Our Country Is More Than An Economic Machine, And Freedom Is Not License But Responsibility.
Country
Freedom
Responsibility
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.
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Fire
Difficult Choices
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Motivational
Ideas
Arrows
Empty Your Knapsack Of All Adjectives, Adverbs And Clauses That Slo Your Stride And Weaken Your Pace. Travel Light. Remember The Most Memorable Sentences In The English Language Are Also The Shortest: "the King Is Dead" And "jesus Wept."
Jesus
Kings
Memorable
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People
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Fox News And Rush Limbaugh Have Raised Ignorance To Ideology And Stupefied An Entire Political Party. No More Roguish And Rowdy Band Of Predators Ever Did More To Demean And Despoil The Democracy On Whose Carcass They Feed.
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Ignorance
Political
Journalism's Been A Continuing Course In Adult Education For Me.
Adults
Journalism
Continuing
Here Is The Crisis Of The Times As I See It: We Talk About Problems, Issues, Policies, But We Don't Talk About What Democracy Means - What It Bestows On Us - The Revolutionary Idea That It Isn't Just About The Means Of Governance But The Means Of Dignifying People So They Become Fully Free To Claim Their Moral And Political Agency.
Mean
Revolutionary Ideas
Issues
Watching The Debate This Afternoon It Was Apparent They Loved Term Limits In The House - As Brutus Loved Caesar.
House
Term Limits
Afternoon
Secrecy Is The Freedom Tyrants Dream Of.
Dream
Freedom
Tyrants
In Tracking Down And Eliminating Terrorists, We Need To Change Our Metaphor From A "war On Terror" - Exactly What, Pray Tell, Is That? - To The Mind-set Of Interpol Tracking Down Master Criminals Through Intense Global Cooperation Among Nations, Or The Fbi Stalking The Mafia, Or Local Police Determined To Quell Street Gangs Without Leveling The Entire Neighborhood In The Process.
War
Police
Mind
Now Barack Obama, Who Campaigned For Transparency, Is The President Defending Secret Negotiations On New Trade Agreements That Are Largely Being Written By Corporate Lawyers And Lobbyists. He Would Give Corporations The Key To The Treasury While He Gets The Authority To Fast Track Another Hammering Of Working People And The Environment. Yet The Only People Who Get A Real Tongue-lashing From This President's White House Are Progressives Around Town Who Dare To Call Him On The Carpet For Abandoning His Promises.
Real
Agreement
White
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.
Thinking
Games
Class
When We Were Covering The 2008 Campaign I Told My Young African American Colleagues That Despite The Historical Significance Of Victory, Barack Obama Was Going To Break Their Hearts. They Didn't Want To Hear That, And They Refused To Believe It. Eighteen Months Later They Started Dropping By One By One To Say, Sadly: "he Broke Our Hearts." A Couple Of Them Even Wept.
Couple
Believe
Heart
Although Our Interests As Citizens Vary, Each One Is An Artery To The Heart That Pumps Life Through The Body Politic, And Each Is Important To The Health Of Democracy.
Heart
Voting
Democracy
Our Children Are Being Raised By Appliances.
Children
Raised
Appliances
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.
Believe
Thinking
People
I Have Seen Hate Born Of Fear, Hate Speaking In The Name Of God And Truth, Hate Holding Up A Distorting Mirror To Fellow Human Beings.
Hate
Mirrors
Names
Reagan's Story Of Freedom Superficially Alludes To The Founding Fathers, But Its Substance Comes From The Gilded Age, Devised By Apologists For The Robber Barons. It Is Posed Abstractly As The Freedom Of The Individual From Government Control A Jeffersonian Ideal At The Roots Of Our Bill Of Rights, To Be Sure. But What It Meant In Politics A Century Later, And Still Means Today, Is The Freedom To Accumulate Wealth Without Social Or Democratic Responsibilities And License To Buy The Political System Right Out From Everyone Else.
Father
Mean
Responsibility
As A Student I Learned From Wonderful Teachers And Ever Since Then I've Thought Everyone Is A Teacher.
Teacher
Teaching
Students
Having Lost Faith In All Else, Zealots Have Nothing Left But A Holy Cause To Please A Warrior God. They Win If We Become Holy Warriors, Too; If We Kill The Innocent As They Do; Strike First At Those Who Had Not Struck Us; Allow Our Leaders To Use The Fear Of Terrorism To Make Us Afraid Of The Truth; Cease To Think And Reason Together, Allowing Others To Tell What's In God's Mind.
Warrior
Winning
Thinking
The Rich Today Are Richer, There Are More Of Them, They Have Round-the-clock Propaganda Factories In Rupert Murdoch's Empire And Rightwing Talk Radio, And Corporate Media Have Their Back.
Media
Radio
Empires
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