Friendship is a disinterested commerce between equals; love, an abject intercourse between tyrants and slaves.
It is a violation which has obsessed the tyrants of the twentieth century. They do not want simply to kill their opponents, but to liquidate them, to deny that they have ever existed.
The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
The greatest bulwark against an overreaching government, as tyrants know, is a religious population. That is because religious people form communities of interest adverse to government control of their lives; religious communities rely on their families and each other rather than an overarching government utilizing force.
We immerse ourselves in escapist mass entertainment, such as 'reality T.V.' programs. We support fanatical politicians and preachers. Our politicians, in turn, support dictators and tyrants in other countries, all in the name of 'security' and 'stability'. And we arm ourselves to the teeth, and pray to God to be saved.
It is no coincidence that the growth of modern tyrants has in every case been heralded by the growth of prejudice.
Ignorance has always been the weapon of tyrants; enlightenment the salvation of the free.
A great nation like the United States has many and varied interests, and we need both to do business with tyrants and to engage constantly in multilateral diplomacy.
Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.