I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom.
Interpretation
True freedom depends on the common people rather than the wealthy elite.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of the average citizen in maintaining the liberty of a society. He suggests that societal freedom relies more on the collective will and strength of the general population than on the influence of the wealthy or elite classes, advocating for a democratic view where the voice of the people is paramount in sustaining freedom and governance.
In practice
This quote can be used to inspire a discussion in a political class about the role of citizens in democracy.
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
βWe 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.
Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones. Any nobleness begins at once to refine a man's features, any meanness or sensuality to imbrute them.
Corporate social responsibility is measured in terms of businesses improving conditions for their employees, shareholders, communities, and environment. But moral responsibility goes further, reflecting the need for corporations to address fundamental ethical issues such as inclusion, dignity, and equality.
I cannot see why we should expect an infinite God to do better in another world than he does in this.
The role of the intellectual cannot be to excuse the violence of one side and condemn that of the other.
The world is full of things that upset people. But most of us deal with it and move on and don't try and burn the planet down.
It is not possible to conceive a democratic Guatemala, free and independent, without the indigenous identity shaping its character into all aspects of national existence.
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