“Our Founding Fathers well understood that concentrated power is the enemy of liberty and the rights of man. They knew that the American experiment in individual liberty, free enterprise and republican self-government could succeed only if power were widely distributed. And since in any society social and political power flow from economic power, they saw that wealth and property would have to be widely distributed among the people of the country. The truth of this insight is immediately apparent.” PeopleIfsMenWellsSelfCountryWisdomGovernmentPoliticalFatherPoliticsIndividualSocialWealthLibertyEnemyEconomySawsRightsEconomicRepublicanSucceedUnderstoodFlowPropertyInsightExperimentsLiberalismEnterpriseFoundingOur Founding FathersPolitical PowerFree EnterpriseIndividual LibertySelf-governmentEconomic Power Author:Ronald Reagan
“I saw in States' rights the only availing check upon the absolutism of the sovereign will, and secession filled me with hope, not as the destruction but as the redemption of Democracy.... Therefore I deemed that you were fighting the battles of our liberty, our progress, and our civilization, and I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.” StatesFightingLostLibertyDemocracySawsRightsProgressCivilizationBattleDestructionFilledSavedChecksRedemptionStakesRejoiceSovereignMournConfederateAbsolutismSecessionWaterlooStates RightsRichmond Author:Lord Acton
“During the 19th-century struggle for womens rights in America, many saw a competition between rights for black people and those for women.” PeopleAmericaBlackStruggleSawsRightsCenturyCompetitionBlack PeopleWomens Rights19th CenturyRights In America Author:Karen DeCrow
“The Second Amendment, like the rest of the Bill of Rights, was meant to inhibit only the federal government, not the states. The framers, as The Federalist Papers attest (see No. 28), saw the state militias as forces that might be summoned into action against the federal government itself, if it became tyrannical.” IfsStatesGovernmentMightActionForceSawsRightsPaperBillsAmendmentsFederal GovernmentPapersSecond AmendmentBill Of RightsMilitiaFederalistFederalist PapersFramersSecond Ammendment Author:Joseph Sobran
“I had a couple of experiences as a kid with animals where I hurt them, kind of unintentionally, and when I saw that a human being can hurt an animal it really affected me. And my kids...they became animal rights activists.” HumansKindKidsHurtHuman BeingsAnimalSawsRightsCoupleAffectedActivistAnimal RightsAnimal Rights Activists Author:Sean Astin
“The first year I was in office, only about 800 people came out of the Soviet Union, Jews. By the third year I was in office... second year, 1979, 51,000 came out of the Soviet Union. And every one of the human rights heroes - I'll use the word - who have come out of the Soviet Union, have said it was a turning point in their lives, and not only in the Soviet Union but also in places like Czechoslovakia and Hungary and Poland [they] saw this human rights policy of mine as being a great boost to the present democracy and freedom that they enjoy.” PeopleYearsFirstsHumansSaidUseEnjoyDemocracySawsRightsPolicyMinesHeroOfficeThirdsUnionsHuman RightsJewSovietSoviet UnionTurning PointsBoostPolandHungaryCzechoslovakia Author:Jimmy Carter
“I think after time goes by and you earn certain rights or you break through certain barriers, you could sometimes, maybe, take it for granted what you have now that you didn't have before. And then that would lead to a certain lack of community, in a way, caring in a way, that I saw before [in gay society].” ThinkingWaySometimesCertainCommunityBreakSawsRightsGayCaringGrantedBarriersBreak ThroughTime Goes By Author:Madonna Ciccone
“I was a young feminist in the '70s. Feminism saved my life. It gave me a life. But I saw how so much of what people were saying was not matching up with what they were doing. For example, we were talking about sister solidarity, and women were putting each other down. We were talking about standing up for our rights, and women weren't leaving abusive relationships with men. There were just so many disconnects.” PeopleMenYoungTalkingSawsRightsFeminismExampleStandingLeavingFeministSavedSolidarityAbusiveMatchingAbusive Relationship Author:Eve Ensler
“People were floored when they saw that the underwear bomber, after less than 50 minutes of interrogation, was given the rights, privileges, and immunities of an American citizen under the Constitution.” PeopleGivenSawsRightsMinutesCitizensConstitutionPrivilegeUnderwearAmerican CitizensImmunityBombersInterrogation Author:Michele Bachmann
“Often people who already had an interest in human rights work. What I did notice with all of them, even the people who professed to be interested in human rights, was that activism was somewhat a concept in their mind - a symbolic flag on the quad or something to show how many people were starving in the world. But once they saw their efforts connected to a person, I did see a change.” PeopleWorldMindHumansPersonsShowsInterestEffortSawsRightsConceptsHuman RightsConnectedActivismFlagsStarvingSymbolicQuads Author:Adam Braver
“Well, human rights defenders, freedom of speech advocates, lawyers that we spoke to said this is really an expansion. After the military ouster of Egypt's unpopular, but elected Islamist president in 2013, we saw political opponents being arrested by the thousands, really. Then we saw a popular comedian go off the air out of fear of retribution.” HumansWellsSaidPoliticalPresidentSawsRightsAirMilitarySpeechHuman RightsLawyerComedianOpponentsSpokesFreedom Of SpeechExpansionEgyptArrestedRetributionDefendersIslamistsPolitical Opponents Author:Leila Fadel
“I've always been progressive on social issues: pro-choice, pro-gun control, and pro-gay rights - even when I was a Republican. The big difference is that I once believed the private sector would address America's social problems. But then I saw firsthand that this wasn't going to happen.” ProblemBigsHappensAmericaChoicesSocialDifferencesIssuesSawsRightsRepublicanGayGunAddressesProgressiveGun ControlSocial IssuesPrivate SectorGay RightsSocial ProblemsPro GunPro Gun ControlPro Gay Author:Arianna Huffington