The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn't be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force others to become Puritans; in the New World, of course, they could and did.
Interpretation
The Puritans migrated to America not for religious freedom for themselves, but to impose their beliefs on others.
Gore Vidal's quote suggests that the Puritans were driven not by a desire for freedom of religion but by a need to exert their beliefs on others. They sought a new environment where they could practice their faith without opposition, indicating a complex relationship with the idea of religious liberty, where their quest for autonomy entangled with a desire for authority over others in matters of faith.
In practice
In a discussion about religious freedom during a class on American history.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
There is a way of losing that is finding. When soul overmasters sense. When the noble and divine self overcomes the lower self. When duty and honor and love immortal things bid the mortal perish. It is only when a man supremely gives that he supremely finds
I have listened _x000D_ And I have looked _x000D_ With open eyes. _x000D_ I have poured my soul _x000D_ Into the world _x000D_ Seeking the unknown _x000D_ Within the known. _x000D_ And I sing out loud _x000D_ In amazement.
I think it's interesting how people act on their beliefs. A lot of Christians, for instance, wear crosses around their necks. Nice sentiment, but do you think when Jesus comes back, he's really going to want to look at a cross?
Our entire life, with our fine moral code and our precious freedom, consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.
Faith is being loyal to you unseen reality within
To affirm is not to bear, carry, or harness oneself to that which exists, but on the contrary to unburden, unharness, and set free that which lives.
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