The opinions and beliefs of men follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds.
Interpretation
People's opinions are shaped by the evidence they encounter.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson highlights the idea that human beliefs and opinions are not formed in isolation, but are instead influenced by the evidence and information presented to them. It suggests that our understanding and viewpoints are shaped by external stimuli, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and the evaluation of evidence in forming our opinions.
In practice
This quote can be used in a debate about the importance of evidence in shaping public opinion.
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.
We need to defend the interests of those whom we've never met and never will.
And even a liar can be scared into telling the truth, same as honest man can be tortured into telling a lie.
These decrees of yours are no different from spiders' webs. They'll restrain anyone weak and insignificant who gets caught in them, but they'll be torn to shreds by people with power and wealth.
However fascinating you may think you are, there is a limit to what you can know about yourself.
America is a fundamentally good country. We have good people with good values who want to do the right thing. But the structures of power that exist are working to their own ends to extend their capability at the expense of the freedom of all publics.
History has to be rewritten because history is the selection of those threads of causes or antecedents that we are interested in.
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