A good government may, indeed, redress the grievances of an injured people; but a strong people can alone build up a great nation.
Thomas Francis MeagherRead
I now bid farewell to the country of my birth - of my passions - of my death; a country whose misfortunes have invoked my sympathies - whose factions I sought to quell - whose intelligence I prompted to a lofty aim - whose freedom has been my fatal dream.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a deep emotional connection to one's homeland, intertwined with themes of struggle, aspiration, and loss.
In this poignant farewell, Thomas Francis Meagher expresses his profound attachment to his homeland, marked by a mix of passion and sorrow. He acknowledges the misfortunes that drew his sympathies and the struggles for freedom that inspired his aspirations, recognizing that his dreams for the country ultimately led to personal sacrifice and heartbreak.
In practice
During a memorial for a national hero, this quote can be used to reflect on the sacrifices made for freedom.
A good government may, indeed, redress the grievances of an injured people; but a strong people can alone build up a great nation.
A lot of women ask themselves why they should bring a child into the world? So that it will be hungry, so that it will be cold, so that it will be betrayed and humiliated, so that it will be slaughtered by war or disease? They reject the hope that its hunger will be satisfied, its cold warmed, that loyalty and respect will accompany it through life, that it will be a devote a life to the effort to eliminate war and disease.
Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime.
The religious persecution of the ages has been done under what was claimed to be the command of God.
Foreigners have a complex set of associations in their minds when they think of America - from Iraq to 9/11, certainly, but also from Coke to jeans. It is entirely possible for people around the world to love American products, American books, American movies, American music, and dislike the policies of the government of America.
Our life is what our thoughts make it.
Big ideas, big ambitious projects need to be embedded within culture at a level deeper than the political winds. It needs to be deeper than the economic fluctuations that could turn people against an expensive project because they're on an unemployment line and can't feed their families.
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