#liberty

Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. ↗

— Thomas Jefferson

#power #tyranny #experience

First, individual rights cannot be sacrificed for the sake of the general good, and second, the principles of justice that specify these rights cannot be premised on any particular vision of the good life. What justifies the rights is not that they maximize the general welfare or otherwise promote the good, but rather that they comprise a fair framework within which individuals and groups can choose their own values and ends, consistent with a similar liberty for others. ↗

— Michael J. Sandel

#good-life #greater-good #individuals #justice #laws

We are not called to fight the battles of our fathers with a blind faith. We are called to examine their wars, and moreover, to discern whether their actions were sinful or just. Furthermore, we are called to decide whether to correct the errors of our fathers battles through either peace, war, or some combination of the two. We are not bonded to our fathers' fate, but rather called to build on their trespasses or triumphs for a better future. ↗

— Cristina Marrero

#destiny #fate #fathers #liberty #trespasses

At the time of his death, Biko had a wife and three children for which he left a letter that stated in one part: “I've devoted my life to see equality for blacks, and at the same time, I've denied the needs of my family. Please understand that I take these actions, not out of selfishness or arrogance, but to preserve a South Africa worth living in for blacks and whites. ↗

— Steve Biko

#family #liberty #south-africa #death

The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear. ↗

— Herbert Agar

#truth #men

I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed, without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government. ↗

— Martin Luther King Jr.

#liberty #liberty

Only reason can convince us of those three fundamental truths without a recognition of which there can be no effective liberty: that what we believe is not necessarily true; that what we like is not necessarily good; and that all questions are open. ↗

— Clive Bell

#convince #effective #fundamental #good #liberty

It's important to every American that the law protect his or her basic liberty. ↗

— Stephen Breyer

#basic #every #her #his #important

To the American people I say, awaken to what is happening. It is the duty of each citizen to be vigilant, to protect liberty, to speak out, left and right and disagree lest be trampled underfoot by misguided zealotry and extreme partisanship. ↗

— Robert Byrd

#american people #awaken #citizen #disagree #duty

Being an American is about having the right to be who you are. Sometimes that doesn't happen. ↗

— Herb Ritts

#americans #civil-rights #expression #gay-rights #homosexuality