Independence can be trusted nowhere but with the people in mass. They are inherently independent of all but moral law.
Interpretation
True independence resides within the collective will of the people, governed only by moral law.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the belief that individual freedom and independence are best safeguarded by the collective judgment of the people. Jefferson suggests that while people may be influenced by various forces, their inherent independence remains intact as long as they adhere to a moral framework, highlighting the importance of moral law in guiding the actions of society.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about the value of democracy and the importance of citizen engagement.
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.
There is this to be said in favor of drinking, that it takes the drunkard first out of society, then out of the world.
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.
Religious War has signified the greatest advance of the masses so far, for it proves that the masses have begun to treat concepts with respect.
What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice.
A distracted existence leads us to no goal
There is no escape - we pay for the violence of our ancestors.
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