“Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armoury of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master.”
“But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.”
“We the people tell the government what to do, it doesn’t tell us.”
“You cannot extend the mastery of government over the daily life of a people without somewhere making it master of people’s souls and thoughts.”
“I can imagine no greater disservice to the country than to establish a system of censorship that would deny to the people of a free republic like our own their indisputable right to criticize their own public officials.”
“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.”
“The diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason; freedom of religion; freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.” "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
Evil is nurtured by, and prospers through, Ignorance. Ignorance, which can only reign in the absence of Truth, gives birth to Bondage. Truth annihilates Ignorance and gives birth to Freedom. Evil cannot exist in the presence of Love; for Love destroys Evil and gives birth to Safety. As Truth and Love emanate from the "divine" Law of Liberty; even so, Safety and Freedom can only be found in the "divine" Law of Liberty. Rejection of this Law brings the curses of "hell" on earth. Acceptance of this Law brings the blessings of "heaven" on earth.
“Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.”
(The Bible, KJV)
(The Bible, KJV)