Quotes
“A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither”
– Thomas Jefferson
“I have a foreboding of America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time–when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”
– Carl Sagan – 1995 “The Demon-Haunted World”
If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves in the succeeding government. There’s so much talk about the system. And so little understanding.”
– Robert M Pirsig – 1974 “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values”
“Voting Prevents Unwanted Presidencies”
– the internet
Definitions / Use-of-Terms
“Free” as in “Free Beer” or “Free Speech” – Gratis or Libre
Gratis (/ˈɡrɑːtɪs/) in English is adopted from the various Romance and Germanic languages, ultimately descending from … grātia in Latin. It means “free” in the sense that some goods or service is supplied without need for payment, even though it may have value.
Libre (/ˈliːbrə/) in English is adopted from the various Romance languages, ultimately descending from the Latin word līber; its origin is closely related to liberty. It denotes “the state of being free”, as in “liberty” or “having freedom”. …
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre
Liberal and Conservative – BOTH are valuable words
- Liberal – from Liberate / Liberty – advocating Freedom – to change, to choose a different path
- Conservative – from Conserve – advocating Caution – keeping what works, avoiding risk
- BOTH paths have value – what to keep (conserve) and what to let go of (liberate) are continuous questions throughout a mature adulthood. The decisions are not always easy, but there needs to be a recognition of the dynamic balance between the two paths. Each generation needs to determine what is appropriate for the time and place.