James Monroe Quote 

"Of the liberty of conscience in matters of religious faith, of speech and of the press; of the trial by jury of the vicinage in civil and criminal cases; of the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus; of the right to keep and bear arms... If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny."

by:
James Monroe
(1758-1831), 5th US President
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Reader comments about this quote:
We, as a whole people, have forgotten... fallen asleep on our watch...
 -- ang, washington state		 
Liberty, Freedom, and Accountability... we fair thee well. Greetings, tyranny.
 -- Logan, Memphis, TN		 
Where are these men ,Today, When we NEED them?
 -- Al Santosuosso, Wakefield		 
This is what we were taught in school, in the 50's,,, What Happened?
 -- Will, Revere		 
"Taught"??? You mean our fathers died for!
 -- anonymus, ma		 
Congress is doing the unconstitutional.
 -- Joe, Rochester, MI		 
I frown and nod my head, an altruism concerning degenerative tyranny come to fruition.
 -- Mike, Norwalk		 
These rights are well defined... and are well secured against encroachment... and yet our government is degernateing into tyranny... why? Because the mechanisms for that securing have been compromised by a our own insecurities and lack of understanding... when WE let King George take over both the courts and congress we are telling him to be the tyrant that he is being. So, no, while the sentiment is nice, this quote is incomplete. To guard against tyanny we must also take an active role.
 -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US		 
We secure these rights against encroachment when we refuse to convict our fellow citizens of harmless actions - actions which harm no other person, although perhaps the self, and lose these rights when we yield to the threat of force from government agents, or the real force of those thugs, and do not refuse to cooperate. No one said freedom was easy. Refuse to convict anyone on trial if they have harmed no other person. There go all the unconstitutional drug and carry laws, unenforceable by jurors who follow their conscience. FIJA www.fija.org
 -- Iloilo M. Jones, Helena, Montana		 
Reston's got a point. "Secured against encroachment" is the phrase he is talking about -- the people must act -- we cannot expect government to 'secure' our rights against their own encroachment. Anon from Montana is right on -- the jury is the final protection against bad laws which make crimes out of inalienable rights. The jury is the last line of defense against tyranny. Of course, without the writ of habeas corpus, people can now be arrested and imprisoned for life without trial or counsel!
 -- E Archer, NYC		 
The Founding Fathers never, fully, anticipated just how surrepticious man can be. They warned us about "mischievous and perhaps evil men" and also about "encroachments" by politicians, but they still never provided for the proper restraints in the so-called limited and restricted Constitution!
 -- d daxx, novi, michigan		 
This is only true if our Constitution is contractual and not a "living, breathing" document as so many of our politicians and elitist power brokers try to convince us. Words matter. They had a meaning 227 years ago, and that meaning must apply today. When we allow tyrants to redefine away our rights at a whim, we deserve what we get. I rate this quote low simply because of the use of "impossible." I have seen with my own eyes that it is possible.
 -- Ken, Allyn, WA		 
Juries and witnesses can be bought, rights rescinded, law enforcement officials lie at will, in reports and under oath, and judges rule as they please. Welcome to America, where tyranny comes from above and below and from all sides.
 -- David L Rosenthal		 
Reston and Archer, how should we "act" to stop the encroachment. How should people respond? Ken, is the Constitution supposed to be a "living, breathing" document?
 -- Joe, Rochester, MI		 
Why, Joe, all you have to do is send a letter of complaint to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Federal Reserve, the IRS, the US Attorney General, and the White House, and all your complaints will be resolved. :-)
 -- David L Rosenthal		 
I have been involved in hundreds of cases and I do not know one trial to be clean but rather eah has been infected with an extremly prejudiced judge or lying prosecutor(s) (complete with intimidated witnesses). I have personally seen people go to prison without as much as a grand jury or statutory charge (by way of example an individual was charged with defrauding the IRS - no statutorily crime defined; just defrauding the IRS, the judge told the jury to find the defendant guilty of a statutory crime that had been added late in the trial, having no issues brought up in court concerning that specific statute; and so that individual was convicted. Court documents are becoming altered prior to publishing them more as a rule than an exception). David was right about juries but, the much larger problem with juror's is knowledge, integrity, and religion (the government being the infallible church with its ministers - the good guy priesthood). The Constitution is a philosophically finite document (not living), and each juror must act within his/her Constitutional right and obligation to stop the degeneration of governmental tyranny.
 -- Mike, Norwalk		 
IF is the largest small word.It can be very Transforming and full of hope.
 -- Me Again		 
The right to keep and bear arms is not absolute. It is only reserved for responsible citizens since it is the only "right" that can deprive another of their right to life. That is why we have gun control laws.
 -- Rick L., Lynnfield, MA		 
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