I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
Interpretation
A modest uprising can be beneficial and is as essential in politics as storms are in nature.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson suggests that occasional rebellion is an important part of a healthy political system. Just as storms are crucial for cleansing the environment and bringing about change in nature, rebellions can serve to rejuvenate governance and ensure that the power remains with the people, preventing stagnation and oppression in society.
In practice
In a speech advocating for democratic reform.
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.
We Filipinos have to exercise the necessary pressure on Marcos. But it would certainly help our cause if the Americans would stop supporting Mr. Marcos.
Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence.
Political activism is not failing because people are too busy watching cat videos online, but because of a fundamental collapse of citizen leverage on institutions of power like governments and corporations.
As international support for Obama's decision to attack Syria has collapsed, along with the credibility of government claims, the administration has fallen back on a standard pretext for war crimes when all else fails: the credibility of the threats of the self-designated policeman of the world.
Unfortunately, very few governments think about youth unemployment when they are drawing up their national plans.
The government is us; we are the government, you and I.
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