"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."

--Thomas Jefferson

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not?"

--Patrick Henry

 "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

-- George Washington

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."

-- Alexander Hamilton

"The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."

-- G. K. Chesterton

"A human group transforms itself into a crowd when it suddenly responds to a suggestion rather than to reasoning, to an image rather than to an idea, to an affirmation rather than to proof, to the repetition of a phrase rather than to arguments, to prestige rather than to competence."

-- Jean-Francois Revel

"People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

-- Edmond Burke

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

-- Samuel Adams

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."

-- George Washington

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

-- Calvin Coolidge