I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.
Interpretation
Jefferson expresses a preference for the challenges that come with freedom over the constraints of excessive control.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson conveys the idea that the benefits of having a considerable amount of liberty outweigh the inconveniences that may accompany it. He emphasizes the importance of freedom, suggesting that it is better to face the hardships of too much freedom than to endure the limitations imposed by too little. Jefferson advocates for a balance where liberty is prioritized, even if it comes with challenges, as it is essential for a fulfilling and autonomous life.
In practice
In a speech advocating for civil liberties, you might use this quote to highlight the importance of freedom.
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.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
Because what's the use of learning that I am one of a long row only - finding out that there is set down in some old book somebody just like me, and to know that I shall only act her part; making me sad, that's all. The best is not to remember your nature and your past doings have been just like thousands' and thousands', and that your coming life and doings'll be like thousands' and thousands'.
he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence
The American 'unum' has been lost since the Sixties. If this continues, there will soon be no unifying American identity and vision to balance the 'pluribus,' and the days of the Republic will be numbered.
War is America's central liturgical act necessary to renew our sense that we are a nation unlike other nations.
Do you want to know the cause of war? It is capitalism, greed, the dirty hunger for dollars. Take away the capitalist and you will sweep war from the earth.
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