Independence can be trusted nowhere but with the people in mass. They are inherently independent of all but moral law.
Interpretation
True independence resides within the collective will of the people, governed only by moral law.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the belief that individual freedom and independence are best safeguarded by the collective judgment of the people. Jefferson suggests that while people may be influenced by various forces, their inherent independence remains intact as long as they adhere to a moral framework, highlighting the importance of moral law in guiding the actions of society.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about the value of democracy and the importance of citizen engagement.
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.
No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments, but for those who neglect their neighbour a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire and torment in the company of the demons. Do not, therefore, adorn the church and ignore your afflicted brother, for he is the most precious temple of all.
Ever building, building to the clouds, still building higher, and never reflecting that the poor narrow basis cannot sustain the giddy tottering column.
For men are not equal: thus speaks justice.
You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you. The future will take care of itself.
Take comfort, and recollect however little you and I may know, God knows; He knows Himself and you and me and all things; and His mercy is over all His works.
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