Industry, commerce and security are the surest roads to the happiness and prosperity of people.
Interpretation
Economic stability and security contribute significantly to people's happiness and prosperity.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson highlights the vital role that industry, commerce, and security play in ensuring the well-being and prosperity of people. It suggests that a thriving economy and a stable society are essential foundations for achieving happiness and improving the quality of life for individuals and communities.
In practice
This quote could be used during a community meeting discussing local economic development.
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
We 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.
I have worries and fears just like everybody else. But I have every reason to wake up each morning and be very happy.
The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.
Happiness can’t be reduced to a few agreeable sensations. Rather, it is a way of being and of experiencing the world—a profound fulfillment that suffuses every moment and endures despite inevitable setbacks.
When I lay my head on the pillow at night I can say I was a decent person today. That's when I feel beautiful.
Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.
Yes, there is a burden of financial insecurity. I don't think you find it in mood. Income is correlated with life satisfaction, so maybe you do find it in life satisfaction. You don't find it in mood, and I think it is very important.
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