The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.
Interpretation
Good government prioritizes the well-being of its citizens over any form of destruction.
Thomas Jefferson emphasizes that the primary responsibility of a government is to care for the lives and happiness of its people. This indicates that governance should aim to enhance the quality of life rather than bring harm, highlighting the moral obligation that leaders have to prioritize the welfare of the population they serve.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about effective governance.
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.
Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.
The first years in Parliament I did nothing - nothing to any purpose. My own distinction was my darling object.
Scotland is not a region of the U.K.; Scotland is a nation, and if we cannot protect our interests within a U.K. that is going to be changing fundamentally, then that right of Scotland to consider the options of independence has to be there.
Since Israel is a democratic state surrounded by essentially undemocratic states which have sworn her destruction, those interested in democracy everywhere must support Israel's existence.
A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected.
In the final analysis it doesn't really matter what the political system is...We don't need perfect political systems; we need perfect participation.
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