Thomas Jefferson

I was going through old pictures last night, and I ran across several that I took at the Thomas Jefferson memorial in Washington D.C. on my high school senior trip. I remember taking pictures of the quotes etched into the stone walls because I was surprised they were there to begin with! It was ironic to see such poignant quotes displayed for all to read, while just a short distance away, senators and congressmen continue to fight for and against the role that God has in our nation's past, present and future. I hope some of these quotes will make you stop and think about our nation and the issues we are facing with the upcoming election.



Welfare / Social Security / Taxes:

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father’s has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association—the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.

Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread.

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now.

It is better to tolerate that rare instance of a parent’s refusing to let his child be educated, than to shock the common feelings by a forcible transportation and education of the infant against the will of his father.

The man who reads nothing at all is better than educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.