“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it."
Accept nothing less than liberty. Don't let them distract you with "freedom", "entitlements", or false promises of "safety". It's liberty or slavery. There's no third way.
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"law is often but the tyrant's will"
ReplyDeleteYou have just raised Jefferson in my estimation.
I especially like the next part, "and always so when it violates the rights of the individual", which describes nearly the entire law library, as enforced.
DeleteThat quote and the following are my favorite statements (among many) from Jefferson.
ReplyDelete“I set out on this ground which I suppose to be self evident, ‘that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living;’ that the dead have neither powers nor rights over it.”
----Thomas Jefferson, letter to Madison 9/6/1789
"Usufruct"- that's a word I don't remember encountering before. But I looked it up and it does seem entirely compatible with liberty.
DeleteIt has always seemed to me that those who believe they can rule the lives of others during their own existence also think they can structure society so that they can continue to dictate how posterity exists even from their graves.
DeleteYes, they always seem to believe they have that "right".
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