To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Interpretation
Forcing someone to fund ideas they oppose is unjust and oppressive.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the moral and ethical implications of coercing individuals to support ideas or causes that they fundamentally disagree with. It highlights the importance of freedom of thought and the rights of individuals to not be compelled to financially support beliefs or initiatives that conflict with their own values, illustrating the broader principle of personal autonomy and the dangers of tyranny in enforcing conformity of thought.
In practice
During a debate on funding for controversial programs, one could use this quote to argue against coercive funding.
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 have lived long enough to experience the hollowness of earth and the rottenness of all carnal promises.
Even if these stories are 3,000 years old, there's still so much about the characters, about the dilemmas, about their understanding of the universe that still resonates. The whole idea of order and chaos, which is really central to the ancient Egyptian understanding of the world, is still very much with us.
The aim of torture is to destroy a person as a human being, to destroy their identity and soul. It is more evil than murder.
What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it is really a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things.
The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.
We might sometimes reflect and recall that the purpose of all our science, technology, industry, manufacturing, commerce, and finance is celebration, planetary celebration. This is what moves the stars through the heavens and the earth through its seasons. The final norm of judgment concerning the success or failure of our technologies is the extent to which they enable us to participate more fully in this grand festival.
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