All power is inherent in the people.
Interpretation
The authority and strength of governance comes from the collective will of the citizens.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the foundational principle of democracy, that the ultimate source of political power lies with the people rather than a ruling elite. It suggests that the government should reflect the desires and needs of its citizens and that the individuals have the right to claim their power in shaping their own governance.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for civic engagement and voter participation.
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.
How can I make difference so that I may bring peace to this world that I love and cherish so much? A name flickers instantly in my mind.
If there's hell below, we're all gonna go.
Women see better than men. Men see lazily, if they do not expect to act. Women see quite without any wish to act.
I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That's what I want to explore. We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die, each of us secretly believing we won't.
No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.
the voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls
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