Thomas Jefferson Quote - Liberty Quotes Blog

"Force (is) the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism."

by:	Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President
Rating:
Categories:	Despotism, Power, President
	Tweet

Reader comments about this quote:

We hold this truth to be self evident. From the local standing army to the reigning clergy of the occupying statist theocracy infesting this land, despotism forces helots, serfs and slaves into a lowly subservient position. -- Mike, Norwalk 3
Collective force has been the engine of civilization. 'Force', like a weapon, can be used for good or ill. But power unchecked invariably goes too far. Despotism is a centralized power structure -- Venezuela is a perfect example. The American republican form of government kept power distributed (it did not redistribute it) so that the President (and Washington DC) could not take over the USA. -- E Archer, NYC 3
In the absence of rightly constituted Moral Authority, of the tempering presence of Virtue, temporal authority derives from the application of brute force. -- Patrick Henry, Red Hill 2
For some reason this made me think of a "quote" I received in an e-mail..."When one continually hears about a civil war, some thoughts come to mind...we on the right have millions of guns and trillions of rounds of ammo...those on the left don't even know which bathroom to use....go figure. And, really, if we were the problem, the entire country would know. -- Denise, Durango 1