No one, I hope, can doubt my wish to see... all mankind exercising self-government, and capable of exercising it. But the question is not what we wish, but what is practicable.
Interpretation
Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of practicality in governance over mere wishes for self-government.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson conveys his belief in the fundamental right of all people to govern themselves. However, he acknowledges the gap between idealistic desires and the realities of what can actually be achieved. This underscores a philosophical tension between hopes for universal self-governance and the practical limitations that must be considered in political affairs.
In practice
This quote can be used during a political debate to discuss the challenges of implementing democratic ideals.
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.
What is different in capitalist civilization has been two things. First, the process of meritocracy has been proclaimed as an official virtue instead of being merely a de facto reality. The culture has been different. And secondly, the percentage of the world's population for whom such ascent was possible has gone up. But even though it has grown up, meritocratic ascent remains very much the attribute of a minority.
It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.
The human heart is a factory of idols...Everyon e of us is, from his mother's womb, expert in inventing idols.
When you have a global mush, people lose their identity, they become pseudonyms, they have no investment and no consequence in what they do.
There's a moon in my body, but I can't see it! A moon and a sun._x000D_ A drum never touched by hands, beating, and I can't hear it!
I am often mad, but I would hate to be nothing but mad: and I think I would lose what little value I may have as a writer if I were to refuse, as a matter of principle, to accept the warming rays of the sun, and to report them, whenever, and if ever, they
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