It is a misfortune that necessity has induced men to accord greater license to this formidable engine, in order to obtain liberty, than can be borne with less important objects in view; for the press, like fire, is an excellent servant, but a terrible master.
Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving to the citizen as much freedom of action and of being as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a freeman. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Political liberty allows individuals the freedom to pursue their own happiness within a structured society.
In this quote, James F. Cooper emphasizes the importance of individuality and personal freedom within a political framework. He argues that a true sense of liberty is achieved when citizens are granted the freedom to act and express themselves while respecting the order and rights of others, thus allowing them to seek happiness in their own way. This perspective highlights the balance between personal freedom and societal norms, advocating for a political system that nurtures individuality.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about civil rights, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of personal liberty.
More from James F. Cooper
All quotes →We live in a world of transgressions and selfishness, and no pictures that represent us otherwise can be true; though happily for human nature, gleamings of that pure spirit in whose likeness man has been fashioned, are to be seen, relieving its deformities, and mitigating, if not excusing its crimes.
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore.
On the human imagination, events produce the effects of time. Thus, he who has travelled far and seen much, is apt to fancy that he has lived long; and the history that most abounds in important incidents, soonest assumes the aspect of antiquity.
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At times, I feel America is something that I can actually put my arms around, more than a land mass and a Constitution, something far more containable and understandable. I don't exactly know what it is, but at these times I feel completely woven into it.
To like an individual because he's black is just as insulting as to dislike him because he isn't white.
Anyone who thinks that the Communist regimes of Central Europe are exclusively the work of criminals is overlooking a basic truth: The criminal regimes were made not by criminals but by enthusiasts convinced they had discovered the only road to paradise. They defended that road so valiantly that they were forced to execute many people. Later it became clear that there was no paradise, that the enthusiasts were therefore murderers.
The Indwelling of Christ by faithis to have Jesus Christ continually in one’s eye, a habitual sight of Him. I call it so because a man actually does not always think of Christ; but as a man does not look up to the sun continually, yet he sees the light of it. So you should carry along and bear along in your eye the sight and knowledge of Christ, so that at least a presence of Him accompanies you, which faith makes.