I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
James MadisonRead
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of unity among states as a core value to uphold.
James Madison expresses a profound belief in the significance of the Union of the States, suggesting that it should be valued and maintained as a fundamental principle. This reflects his convictions about the necessity of collaboration and solidarity among states for a stable and enduring governance.
In practice
During a speech about national unity, I referenced Madison's quote to underscore the importance of working together.
I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time.
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism.
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged, that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.
It was by the sober sense of our citizens that we were safely and steadily conducted from monarchy to republicanism, and it is by the same agency alone we can be kept from falling back.
His face is livid, gaunt his whole body, his breath is green with gall; his tongue drips poison.
Negro blood is sure powerful, because just one drop of black blood makes a colored man. One drop--you are a Negro! . . . Black is powerful.
No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.
We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite.
Demands for solidarity can quickly turn into demands for groupthink, making it difficult to express nuance.
One can say that the city itself is the collective memory of its people, and like memory it is associated with objects and places. The city is the locus of the collective memory.
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