Sherry Chandler » William Stafford
William Stafford
13 May 1980
A democracy may fail to gain participation from nonassertive people. If you want a system that allows active roles for activists, that’s one thing; if your objective is to gain from the insights of all citizens, that’s a different thing. The creative life of unknown people might be a tremendous hidden river. An intelligent leader might want, not just the complaints and declamatory input, but the tide of quiet perceptions from everywhere in the populace; might promote an incessant quizzing of all minds. Contribution of opinion might be more than a right—it might be a need, a salvation, and not just for the individual but for the society…
20 August 1982
A champion is just someone who hasn’t met a live lion.
— William Stafford, Every War Has Two Losers (Milkweed Editions, 2003)
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