Here it is, ta-dah: "Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread." Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography
I did a long post of Jefferson quotes and how they might relate to the health care debate and its fallout not so long ago. I got a big, fat "so what" from one of the Obama-ites. The ideas and opinions of our Founding Fathers are somehow no longer relevant, apparently.
This is the new America! The founding fathers were bad, racist, scum, etc. They aren't liberal approved and they owned slaves just like blacks did, hell, blacks also sold blacks. There were even some white slaves. Slaves were also here before the founding of the country as well. Its funny how until you research some of this stuff liberals have tried to re-write history in every aspect. Slavery in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
While Jefferson had some good ideas about states' rights and the danger of big government, don't get too enamored of him... He was also extremely anti-capitalist, almost to a point of modern day "socialism".
I'm guessing you just found that quote without diving into its context, because he was basically saying that if Washington was allowed to be the center of all power, not allowing individuals to make their own decisions, then it will force them into that kind of mentality. It's kind of like a saying I'm fond of: if you treat someone like a child, then they will act like a child. From his inaugural address: Admittedly, my response was based on the following article: Jefferson Ascendant But I'm pretty much in agreement with everything written there. It's a little old, but I think it still gets its message across. Jefferson never advocated an all-powerful government, but rather a small, decentralized government where people were free to explore their own ideas and make their own decisions - exactly the type of government they were revolting from way back when.
