I had always hoped that the younger generation receiving their early impressions after the flame of liberty had been kindled in every breast . . . would have sympathized with oppression wherever found, and proved their love of liberty beyond their own share of it.
Interpretation
Jefferson emphasizes the importance of empathy for oppression and a shared commitment to liberty.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson expresses his desire for the younger generation to develop a profound awareness of freedom and liberty, promoting empathy towards those who suffer from oppression. He hopes that individuals would not only cherish their own liberty but also advocate for the liberty of others, highlighting the moral responsibility that comes with freedom.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about civil rights to emphasize the importance of universal empathy.
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
We 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.
I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom
What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Fare thee well, king: sith thus thou wilt appear, Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.
Every diminution of the liberty of the press is followed by a diminution of civilization. Wherever we see the freedom of the press interfered with, there we see the nutrition of the human family interrupted.
It is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom's price.
For those who know the value of and exquisite taste of solitary freedom (for one is only free when alone), the act of leaving is the bravest and most beautiful of all.
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