This formidable censor of the public functionaries [the press], by arraigning them at the tribunal of public opinion, produces reform peaceably, which must otherwise be done by revolution. It is also the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man and improving him as a rational, moral, and social being.
Interpretation
The press serves to hold public officials accountable and promotes social reform peacefully.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the essential role of the press as a watchdog over public officials, suggesting that by scrutinizing their actions in the court of public opinion, the press fosters peaceful reform that could otherwise lead to revolutionary upheaval. He highlights that the press not only advocates for accountability but also plays a critical role in educating and elevating individuals as rational, moral, and social beings, ultimately contributing to the improvement of society as a whole.
In practice
During a political rally, one might quote Jefferson to stress the importance of journalism in promoting transparency.
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.
Even if torture works, what is the point of 'defending' America using a tactic that is a fundamental violation of what America ought to mean?
In this state of inner connectedness, you are much more alert, more awake than in the mind-identified state. You are fully present. It also raises the vibrational frequency of the energy field that give life to the physical body.
I'd woken up early, and I took a long time getting ready to exist.
Every man is valued in this world as he shows by his conduct that he wishes to be valued.
Faith is illuminative, not operative; it does not force obedience, though it increases responsibility; it heightens guilt, but it does not prevent sin. The will is the source of action.
In my stillness I am the eternal possibility. In my movement I am the cosmos.
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