I had always hoped that the younger generation receiving their early impressions after the flame of liberty had been kindled in every breast . . . would have sympathized with oppression wherever found, and proved their love of liberty beyond their own share of it.
Interpretation
Jefferson emphasizes the importance of empathy for oppression and a shared commitment to liberty.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson expresses his desire for the younger generation to develop a profound awareness of freedom and liberty, promoting empathy towards those who suffer from oppression. He hopes that individuals would not only cherish their own liberty but also advocate for the liberty of others, highlighting the moral responsibility that comes with freedom.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about civil rights to emphasize the importance of universal empathy.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and 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.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Now that we are poor, we are free. No white man controls our footsteps.
It is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom's price.
When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep.
We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.
I was heartened that people everywhere want certain basic freedoms, even if they live in a totally different cultural environment.
I would rather drudge out my life on a cotton plantation, till the grave opened to give me rest, than to live with an unprincipled master and a jealous mistress.
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