Words From Our Countrymen

Great Thoughts From Great Men

"Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong , to be put right."

Carl Schurz, 1899

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

Thomas Paine 1783

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilzation, it expects what never was and what never will be. "

Thomas Jefferson, 1816

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin, 1759   My thoughts on "The Current War on Terror" JRM

"There is but one element of government, and that is The People. From this element springs all governments."

John Adams, 1814

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

JamesMadison, 1788  My thoughts on Freedom of the press and the need to "Speak Truth to Power." JRM

"We Believe, as asserted in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal; but that does not mean that all men are or can be equal in possessions, in ability, or in merit; it simply means that all shall stand equal before the law."

William Jennings Bryant, 1896

"Democracy is that form of society, no matter what it's political classification, in which everyman has a chance and knows that he has it."

James Russel Lowell, 1884

"God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always willing to defend it."
Daniel Webster 1834

"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."

General Douglas MacArthur, 1962 One of the reasons we should withdraw our troops from Iraq.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what can you do for your country."

John F. Kennedy, 1961

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President."

Teddy Roosevelt

"Your're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is Wrong, no matter who does it or says it."

Malcolm X

"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free"

John 8:32 from the Bible