““Americans are pretty easy-going. But push them too far, and they will remind their would-be “betters” that they are citizens, not subjects. That’s who “we” are.””

— Chuck de Caro, What Do You Mean, ‘We’?

Tags: Chuck de Caro ∙ Americans ∙ subjects ∙ citizens

““By the democratic principles we espouse, government cannot have a right that citizens do not grant it. There are certain things that a person has no right to do. A person has no right to murder or rape another. Therefore, people cannot grant government authority to murder and rape. Similarly, no person has the right to forcibly take the property of one person in order to give it to another. Therefore, people cannot grant government authority to do the same thing. If I forcibly took property from one person, for any reason, most people would condemn it as theft, an immoral act. Theft or any other immoral act does not become moral because it is done by government acting on behalf of a consensus or majority vote just as murder or rape does not become a moral act simply because of a consensus or majority vote.””

— Walter E. Williams

Tags: Walter E. Williams ∙ government ∙ authority ∙ citizens ∙ murder ∙ rape ∙ theft ∙ consensus

““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

Tags: Margaret Mead ∙ doubt ∙ group ∙ thoughtful ∙ committed ∙ citizens ∙ change ∙ World