"The arrogance of power is the best hope for the survival of freedom."

James Bovard Literature See all quotes by James Bovard →

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More by James Bovard

“The worse government fails, the less privacy citizens supposedly deserve.”

“Trusting government nowadays means dividing humanity into two classes: those who can be trusted with power to run other people’s lives, and those who cannot even be trusted to run their own lives.”

“A lie that is accepted by a sufficient number of ignorant voters becomes a political truth.”

“People have been taught to expect far more from government than from freedom.”

“We need a constitutional amendment to make the federal government obey the Constitution.”

“The Patriot Act treats every citizen like a suspected terrorist and every federal agent like a proven angel.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I have said that this Nation as founded on a Christian perspective of the nature of man, that we derive our rights from God and not from government. And part of that perspective is that every individu…"

— William H. Pryor Jr.

Law1962

#freedom

"The South knew that it would never in future possess the same power relative to the North that it did in 1861. From that perspective, it was now for never or Southern independence, if slavery was to b…"

— Harry V. Jaffa

Philosophy1918–2015

#freedom

"When I was in South Africa nothing was more inspiring, nothing more encouraging, to a Briton to find how the men who had either themselves come from its shore or were the descendants of those who had …"

— Joseph Chamberlain

Politics1836–1914

#power

"Our military force at this moment is as efficient in discipline as it is in numbers; and this not only in the regular army, but in the militia, volunteers, and other descriptions of force. We have six…"

— Henry Temple

Politics1739–1802

#time