We prefer war in all cases to tribute under any form and to any people whatever.
Interpretation
Jefferson advocates for maintaining freedom and autonomy over submission or tribute to external powers.
This quote reflects Thomas Jefferson's strong belief in the importance of national sovereignty and independence. By stating that he would prefer war over paying tribute, Jefferson emphasizes the idea that a nation should not compromise its freedom or self-determination, even in the face of conflict, rather than bowing to another power's demands. It highlights a fundamental principle of standing against oppression and valuing liberty above all.
In practice
In a discussion about national pride, one might reference Jefferson's quote to support the idea of standing firm against oppression.
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.
Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life
We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world....No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. it removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul.
Remus Lupin was supposed to be on the H.I.V. metaphor. It was someone who had been infected young, who suffered stigma, who had a fear of infecting others, who was terrified he would pass on his condition to his son. And it was a way of examining prejudice, unwarranted prejudice towards a group of people. And also, examining why people might become embittered when they're treated that unfairly.
I will no longer enter into the all-American skin game that demands you select a box and define yourself by it.
As there is a use in medicine for poisons, so the world cannot move without rogues.
The history of empires is the record of human misery; the history of the sciences is that of the greatness and happiness of mankind.
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