Some Quotes to Chew On

From George Washington:

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness."

"Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals."

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments."

"Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession."



From John Locke:

"Government has no other end, but the preservation of property."

"There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men."

"Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues."

"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts."

"It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of the truth."

"Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain."


From Thomas Jefferson:

"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories."

"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression."

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."