“We ought to be very cautious in the prosecution of magic and heresy. The attempt to put down these two crimes may be extremely perilous to liberty, and may be the origin of a number of petty acts of tyranny if the legislator be not on his guard; for as such an accusation does not bear directly on the overt acts of a citizen, but refers to the idea we entertain of his character.” IfsMayDoeTwoIdeasCharacterLawReligionIndividualJusticeNumbersLibertyMagicCrimeBearsOughtCitizensConscienceTyrannyPersecutionPettyCautiousHeresyLegislatorsAccusationIndividual RightsProsecution Author:Baron de Montesquieu
“State authority can never be an end in itself; for, if that were so, any kind of tyranny would be inviolable and sacred. If a government uses the instruments of power in its hands for the purpose of leading a people to ruin, then rebellion is not only the right but also the duty of every individual citizen.” PeopleIfsKindEndsStatesUseHandsGovernmentWould BePurposeIndividualDutyCitizensAuthorityInstrumentsSacredTyrannyRuinsRebellion Book:Mein Kampf: My Struggle: (Vol. I & Vol. II) - (Complete & Illustrated Edition) Source: Mein Kampf: My Struggle: (Vol. I & Vol. II) - (Complete & Illustrated Edition)
“From the time of the Revolutionary War, when citizens stood forward to defend their liberties against the depredations of tyranny. All the way through Civil War, through the great World Wars, this nation has been defended by the tradition of common ordinary folks who come from behind the plow, come from the store-clerking, come from the classrooms, and so forth to get on the battlefields - ordinary citizens turned into heroes in defense of their liberty, because that's the potential of freedom.” WorldWayHas BeensWarNationsCommonBehindsLibertyHeroCitizensOrdinaryTraditionFolksDefenseStoresTyrannyRevolutionaryWar Of The WorldsCivil WarClassroomBattlefieldsRevolutionary WarOrdinary Citizens Author:Alan Keyes
“Two hundred years ago the forces of freedom challenged this idea. The children of the new enlightenment rose up to defy the tyranny of arrogant clergy and the censorship of pious bureaucrats. They boldly proclaimed that the state must be free from religious coercion and that religion must be free from state control. All individuals have the right to pursue the dictates of their own conscience. All citizens even have the right not to be religious at all.” YearsChildrenTwoIdeasStatesIndividualForceReligiousAtheismCitizensEnlightenmentHundredConscienceYears AgoRoseTyrannyPursueCensorshipArrogantCoercionPiousBureaucratsClergy Author:Sherwin Wine
“It was during the eighteenth century - a period of boastful satisfaction with the nice balances within the English constitution - that Englishmen came to accept the Whig view of the utility of an armed citizenry. The armed citizen was not only affirmed to be protecting himself but, together with his fellows, provided the ultimate check on tyranny.” TogetherViewsAcceptingNiceCenturyBalanceCitizensPeriodsUltimateConstitutionFellowsSatisfactionTyrannyChecksUtilityEnglishmenSecond AmendmentCitizenryArmed Citizens Author:Joyce Lee Malcolm
“When economic power became concentrated in a few hands, then political power flowed to those possessors and away from the citizens, ultimately resulting in an oligarchy or tyranny.” HandsPoliticalEconomicCitizensTyrannyPolitical PowerOligarchyEconomic Power Author:John Adams
“Whether you have an abortion, what you put in your own body, with whom you have sex - these are not affairs of the state. A government does not exist to control the citizens. When it does, it is a tyranny, and must be fought. The tree of liberty, Jefferson warned us, must be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and patriots.” DoeStatesBodyGovernmentSexLibertyTreeBloodCitizensAffairTyrannyAbortionTyrantsPatriot Author:Gore Vidal
“We may well soon be subjected to anything that judges want to enforce.... The result will be an enforced inability of the states to pass laws that reflect the principled judgment of their own citizens....And as our Founders taught us so well, ...[that] will be the end of liberty and the establishment of tyranny in America.” WantWellsMayEndsStatesAmericaLawResultsLibertyTaughtJudgingCitizensJudgmentTyrannyEstablishmentFoundersInabilityTaught UsPrincipledWell Soon Author:Alan Keyes
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” WholeGovernmentPoliticalPoliticsEnergyFreedomLibertyDemocracyEnvironmentSocietyCitizensAimSafetyThreatHistoricalSeriesClimate ChangeLibertarianPracticalsEndlessTyrannyIndividualismImaginaryThreatenedFreedom And LibertyFreedom LibertyProperty RightsMenacePeace WarLimited GovernmentDemocracies HaveLimiting GovernmentClamorLibertarian PartyLimited FreedomPolitical WillGreat LibertarianPolitical IssuesGovernment BureaucracyPrice Of FreedomLimiting FreedomSocial ControlCabalGovernment And PoliticsVoting Founding FathersMoney In Politics Book:Mencken Chrestomathy Source: Mencken Chrestomathy
“The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.” WisdomPoliticsEconomyDemocracyDangerousCitizensTyrannyWelfareLiberalismApathyOligarchyLiberty And JusticePublic WelfareIndifference And Apathy Author:Baron de Montesquieu