Words of Wisdom
Words of Wisdom
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” Samuel Adams, 1780
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
“God forbid that we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.” Thomas Jefferson
“The time is near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own…The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army…Let us therefore rely on the goodness of the cause and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions.” George Washington
“In our age there is no such thing as keeping out of politics. All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.” George Orwell
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
“What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles.” George Hegel
“The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can.” John Gardner
“But to expend millions … is unworthy the charge, and is using posterity with the utmost cruelty; because it is leaving them the great work to do, and a debt upon their backs from which they derive no advantage. Such a thought is unworthy a man of honor, and is the true characteristic of a narrow heart and a peddling politician.” Thomas Paine
“The scope of government must be limited, and the power dispersed.” Milton Friedman
“The function of government must be to favor no small group at the expense of its duty to protect the rights of personal freedom and of private property of all its citizens.” Franklin Roosevelt
“That government is best which governs least.” Henry David Thoreau
“The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” James Madison
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton
“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” Thomas Paine
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” Thomas Jefferson
“Those who came before us risked all of their property, their reputations, their freedom, and their lives to push the boundaries of democracy for us… What are you doing that is more worthy of your efforts than trying to establish the moral principles of fairness, justice, and equality for all in our America?.” Jim Hightower
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." Benjamin Franklin
“Let us heed the voice of the people and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans..” Barbara Jordan
“All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
“Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning.” Frederick Douglass
“It is a common defect of men in fair weather to take no thought of storms.” Machiavelli
“The people need only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they choose, they could blow the Party to pieces by tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it.” George Orwell
“In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated, and scorned.” Mark Twain
“The electorate is the source of strength for a revolutionary idea, because the people, en masse, will support an idea that makes sense, although unconventional, while the elites will support it only when they see they have no choice.” Jude Waniski
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” William Jennings Bryan
“The inside operation of Congress -- the deals, the compromises, the selling out, the co-opting, the unprincipled manipulating, the self-serving career-building -- is a story of such monumental decadence that I believe if people find out about it they will demand an end to it.” Bella Abzug
“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” Thomas Paine
