A few quotations which seem applicable today, from people who knew better.
A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
- John Stuart Mill
A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.
- Bertrand de Juvenal
Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, Judges, and Governors, shall all become wolves.
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Carrington, January 16, 1787
All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate which would be oppression.
- Thomas Jefferson, "First Inaugural Address," March 4, 1801
Consensus is the absence of leadership.
- Margret Thatcher
Congress...post this quote on a large banner in chambers.
I have described [the BATF] properly as jack-booted American fascists. They have shown no concern over the rights of ordinary citizens or their property. They intrude without the slightest regard or concern.
- Rep. John Dingell (D-16th/MI), Congressional Record, 02/08/1995
Where does the government find people to work in these kinds of departments? What are the applicants thinking when they join? When they shoot mothers holding their children in the head?
I am confounded by the blind obedience which members of the Federal enforcement agencies exhibit. These people have no conception of what our country is supposed to be. I guess that is the real problem; our citizens don't understand why this country was founded and, therefore, cannot hold its leaders responsible to maintain that ideal, nor can they judge their own personal actions against that higher standard.
I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor, and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
- Thomas Jefferson
One Great Failing of public education in America is the lack of historical context: WHY the Founding Fathers did what they did.
This quote is deeply prophetic and is only one of hundreds which demonstrate the understanding of government possessed by the architects of our country. Its a shame so few Americans realize the intended purpose of the Federal government. Well, its a shame insofar as We the People are concerned; the Government counts upon our apathy and ignorance in order to take for itself what the People and States were intended to possess.
It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow.
- Alexander Hamilton and Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 62, 1788
It might be instructive to consider that the Constitution of the United States is a four page document. Four written pages. The current Code of Federal Regulations contains about 140,000 printed pages.
The practice of law in America generally requires an advanced college degree.
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.
- Thomas Jefferson (1791)
Unfortunately, we are no longer so lucky as to have statesmen of Jefferson's quality in charge. Our politicians are not statesmen and they cannot even fathom the meaning of this comment. Indeed, attending to any "inconveniences" at all is simply ignored or avoided by politicians; it would require considered thought, intelligence, and taking a position, all anathema to a political career.
In coming months, politicians will flail about looking for freedoms to eliminate to "curb the terrorist threat." They will see an opportunity to grandstand and enhance their careers.... We must remember throughout that you cannot preserve freedom by eliminating it.
- Perry Metzger, president of Wasabi Systems of New York City
Comments made right after 9/11. Its easy to make accurate predictions when you understand the mindsets and motivations of those in charge.
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
- George Bernard Shaw
Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.
- Thomas Jefferson to Isaac H. Tiffany, 1819.
The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money.
- Alexis de Tocqueville
Another prophet proven accurate. If only the citizens knew what Alexis was talking about.
The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance.
- Thomas Paine
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
- Henry David Thoreau
You know, this could be the most important comment on our age.
When the majority of people see a problem in society, if they do anything at all, they pursue an action which is aimed at that particular problem. As Thoreau points out, they whittle away at the branches while the plant simply sprouts new limbs and continues to grow.
Our society seems complex and too complicated to be affected by individual actions. But, in truth, we are simply blinded by the plethora of insignificant components. A moment's considered and informed reflection would reveal the underlying structure and allow individuals to strike at the branches, trunk, and even root of the evil they see.
Alas, it is not so. There has developed within this country a precarious balance between the social constructs of our cooperative republic and the selfishness and competitiveness of our capitalistic economic system. We are torn between social and individual motives and drives. Our preoccupation is with the effects of the evil upon us and not with the evil's cause.
Its hard to take the time to consider the impact of repealing the 17th Ammendment to the Constitution when the daily pressures of kids, jobs, and money seem insurmountable in themselves and demand our full attention. But we MUST make the time to consider the larger social issues, lest the plant of evil continue to spread and grow. We need to realize that our individual problems may be caused or be exacerbated by larger social problems and issues. We must treat the diseases in our country, not just their symptoms.