Lisle Township in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

A Few Thoughts on Democracy

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, July 2, 2026

1. A Few Thoughts on Democracy Marker

Inscription.
A few thoughts about democracy:

Democracy is "government of the people, by the people, for the people"
-Abraham Lincoln

"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."
-Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr

"Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time"
-Winston Churchill

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never vas a democracy yet that did not commit suicide"
-John Adams

The best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation"
-Jimmy Carter

The capacity to combine commitment with skepticism is essential to democracy"
-Mary Catherine Bateson

Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths" … "A republic, by which I mean a government in which

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the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect and promises the cure for which we are seeking."
From James Madison's argument for a Republic rather than a pure Democratic state in The Federalist Papers

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Patriots & Patriotism • Peace • Women. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #02 John Adams, the Former U.S. Presidents: #04 James Madison, the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln, and the Former U.S. Presidents: #39 James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. series lists.

Location. 41° 47.979′ N, 88° 4.283′ W. Marker is in Lisle, Illinois, in DuPage County. It is in Lisle Township. It can be reached from School Street east of Center Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The marker is in the right window of Yender Grocery & Market at Lisle Station Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lisle IL 60532, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the

Yender Grocery & Market image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, July 2, 2026

2. Yender Grocery & Market

"A Few Thoughts on Democracy" is in the right window.

American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Yender Dairy Receipts (here, next to this marker); Democracy (here, next to this marker); Farming in Lisle (here, next to this marker); Blacksmith Shop (a few steps from this marker); Weather Stick (a few steps from this marker); Kitchen Garden & Yender Outhouse (a few steps from this marker); Netzley/Yender House (within shouting distance of this marker); Beaubien Tavern (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lisle.

Also see . . . The Museums at Lisle Station official site. (Submitted on July 6, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 6, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 6, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.