The aspect of American society is animated, because men and things are always changing; but it is monotonous, because all the changes are alike.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
The civil jury is the most effective form of sovereignty of the people. It defies the aggressions of time and man. During the reigns of Henry VIII (1509-1547) and Elizabeth I (1158-1603), the civil jury did in reality save the liberties of England.
Interpretation
The civil jury represents the people's ultimate authority and protects their freedoms against tyranny.
This quote emphasizes the significance of the civil jury in upholding democracy and individual rights. By referring to historical figures like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, De Tocqueville illustrates how the jury system has acted as a safeguard against the overreach of power, suggesting that it embodies the will of the people and serves as a cornerstone of liberty in society.
In practice
During a seminar on democracy, one could quote this to emphasize the importance of citizen participation in the judicial system.
The aspect of American society is animated, because men and things are always changing; but it is monotonous, because all the changes are alike.
Democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom: left to themselves they will seek it, cherish it, and view any deprivation of it with regret. But for equality their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery.
Religion, which never intervenes directly in the government of American society, should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions
The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.
The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing.
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.
Laws to protect 'public health' are potentially infinite, especially once they no longer have to be supported by any research whatsoever.
If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some people against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you, and nobody for you.
Attention should be paid to this question of our soul, and not simply to accounting procedures. Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.
Peace is not made at the council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.
Every important cultural gesture comes down to a morality, a model for human behavior concentrated into a gesture.
Any man's life, told truly, is a novel.
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