17 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Tyranny, Liberty, and Rights

 Benjamin Franklin was dubbed “The First American” for a reason.

Gary M. Galles

Americans remember Benjamin Franklin as one of our founders. That is fitting because he was not just our most famous citizen at our country’s birth, but he was also so much a central part of that birth that he has been called “The First American.”

As a member of the Second Continental Congress, Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence. As a member of the Constitutional Convention, he helped draft the Constitution. Both documents bear his signature. Franklin’s role in our founding has been eclipsed in modern memory by his many other accomplishments.

He also signed the Treaty of Alliance with France, bringing the colonies French aid against the British, and the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War and recognized the independence of the United States. He was the only person, in fact, to sign all those key documents.

However, Franklin’s role in our founding has been eclipsed in modern memory by his many other accomplishments. He was a prolific inventor, from his trademark bifocals to the Franklin Stove and artificial fertilizer. He ran his own paper and published Poor Richard’s Almanac. He even published the first political cartoon in the colonies. He founded the University of Pennsylvania, as well as America’s first public library and hospital. His discoveries went far beyond his famous kite experiment, including the identification of lead poisoning and the charting of ocean currents.

Franklin's Inspirational Words

Unfortunately, attention to what Franklin said about American liberty has often been crowded out by his other accomplishments. On his January 17 birthday, we should remember some of those inspirational words.

1. "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God" (proposed by Franklin for the motto of the Great Seal of the United States).
2. "From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the portion, it is still the birthright of all men."
3. "Every man…is, of common right, and by the laws of God, a freeman, and entitled to the free enjoyment of liberty."
4. "All the property that is necessary to a man for the conservation of the individual… is his natural right which none can justly deprive him of."
5. "Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
6. "Our cause is the cause of all mankind…we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own."
7. "[F]requent recurrence to fundamental principles…[is] absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and keep a government free."
8. "The more the people are discontented with the oppression of taxes, the greater the need the prince has of money to distribute among his partisans and pay the troops that are to suppress all resistance and enable him to plunder at pleasure."
9. "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech."
10. "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics…derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates."
11. "Sell not...liberty to purchase power."
12. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
13. "This Constitution…can only end in despotism…when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other."
14. "I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats."
15. "Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes!"
16. "Ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation to the prejudice and oppression of another is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy...An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy."
17. Benjamin Franklin expressed the goal of America’s experiment in liberty when he said, "God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: This is my country."

As we reflect on current political developments, we should consider how far we are from that goal and how to rekindle America’s liberty.

Quotes From a Famous French Revolutionary...

”Any law which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all. ― Maximilien de Robespierre

“There are only two parties in France: the people and its enemies. We must exterminate those miserable villains who are eternally conspiring against the rights of man...We must exterminate all our enemies.

― Maximilien de Robespierre

“The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.”

― Maximilien de Robespierre

“The revolution is the war of liberty against its enemies. The constitution is the rule of liberty against its enemies. The constitution is the rule of liberty when victorious and peaceable.”

― Maximilien de Robespierre

“To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty. ― Maximilien de Robespierre

“To defend the oppressed against their oppressors, to plead the cause of the weak against the strong who exploit and crush them, this is the duty of all hearts that have not been spoiled by egoism and corruption… It is so sweet to devote oneself to one’s fellows that I do not know how there can be so many unfortunates still without support or defenders. As for me, my life’s task will be to help those who suffer and to pursue through my avenging speech those who take pleasure in the pain of others. How happy I will be if my feeble efforts are crowned with success and if, at the price of my devotion and sacrifices, my reputation is not tarnished by the crimes of the oppressors I will fight.”
― Maximilien de Robespierre

“Virtue, without which terror is destructive; terror, without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue.
― Maximilien de Robespierre, Report on the Principles of Political Morality

Pity is treason. ― Maximilien de Robespierre

Citizens, did you want a revolution without  revolution? ― Maximilien de Robespierre

”Death is not "an eternal sleep!" Citizens! efface from the tomb that motto, graven by sacrilegious hands, which spreads over all nature a funeral crape, takes from oppressed innocence its support, and affronts the beneficent dispensation of death! Inscribe rather thereon these words: "Death is the commencement of immortality! ― Maximilien de Robespierre

Softness to traitors will destroy us all.― Maximilien de Robespierre

Anti-Government Freemen Movement Worries Canadian Security Intelligence Service And The Anti-Defamation League

Below in an interesting article saying how the "Freemen" or sovereign citizen movement has become a target of CSIS (Canadian Intelligence) and the ADL. This is no different than what is happening in the United States under the Homeland Security laws. See here for how the FBI memo labels patriots, Truth-seekers as potential 'terrorists.' See here for the 72 types of Americans that are considered “potential terrorists” in official government documents.  See here and here for previous posts about phony alternative media websites that are a part of intelligence. These "alternative media" websites actually look for people that are critics of NATO foreign policy, Zionism, Israel, or people that are strong supporters of constitutional rights. 

Now, I don't consider myself a part of the "Freemen" movement, you could say that I have explored many anarcho-capitalist, minarchist, and mutualist ideas but I would not consider myself a disciple or true believer in any of those ideologies. Though I would consider myself a Libertarian or a Constitutionalist who believes in the traditional idea of human rights and property rights. This makes me an enemy of the state because these rights have been taken away from North Americans since 2001.

I believe the Canadian and American governments are extremely bloated and overgrown and I think most corporations are too. I think many corporations are exerting an undeniable influence and force on North American politics. This is happening through the large corporations and conglomerates in media, the financial industry, satellite and telecommunications companies, and the defense and security industry. Our governments have been hijacked by organized crime liars, thieves, and charlatans that don't give a damn about the people in their country. Our primary problem in government are the intelligence agencies, and unless anyone is willing to deal with these psychopathic lying scumbags, we aren't going to change anything in our countries.

With views like this, I absolutely know that I am the sort of person that would be on a government watch list, not only because of my belief in the traditional idea of property rights, natural law, natural rights and freedom of speech. But also, and most importantly, because of my belief that Zionism is a large problem in our world today and some of the people involved in it are directly responsible for taking away these sacred rights of ours.

In fact, the article below proves my point. You have to ask yourself why an organization like the ADL, (which incidentally, was funded by a bunch of organized crime thugs, see here, here, here and here for more about the Anti-Defamation League,) would care about some sort of "Freemen" movement.

I can tell you why... it is because they are afraid of people that are near to the truth. Jewish organized crime is running Canada and the United States. The amount of corruption and lies inside your governments is so astounding that it pretty much renders them illegitimate.

The reality is, if you had people come back from the dead from the times of the American and French revolution, they too would be on government watch lists. These people would have been seen as potential terrorists because they were looking to do something about the ruling powers in their countries.

The truth of the matter is, when you look at the United States Consitution and the Bill of Rights, it is not much different than the Canadian Bill of Rights and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Anyone who is adhering to these in a time when they have taken them away from the populace will be seen as a potential "terrorist."

Now read the article below.

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‘Freeman on the Land’ movement worries CSIS

DOUGLAS QUAN / POSTMEDIA NEWS

DECEMBER 30, 2012 03:46 PM


An anti-government movement known as Freeman on the Land has become a “major policing problem” in B.C. and several other provinces, according to a threat assessment by Canada’s spy officials.

The report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service lists Freeman members among “domestic extremists” who associate with issue-based causes, such as environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-globalization and far-right racism.

Its adherents fall on both the left and right wings of the political spectrum, but “at the core” of the movement is the belief that “government operates outside of its legal jurisdiction and therefore Freeman members do not recognize the authority of national, provincial, or municipal laws, policies or regulations,” says the report, titled Canada: Biannual Update on Terrorist and Extremist Threats, which was prepared in April and released under federal access-to-information laws.

“Freeman members now constitute a major policing problem in several provinces and have occasionally engaged in acts of violence against the police,” the report states.

In various videos posted online, supporters of the Freeman movement in Canada — including outspoken advocate Robert Menard — reject any association with violent extremism and insist they are “peaceful and loving.”

Law enforcement officials are not convinced.

A national RCMP spokeswoman said Friday that the force is working with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to develop materials for front-line officers to increase their awareness and understanding of the Freeman movement and its followers.

“Individuals associated to this movement are a concern because some followers advocate violence to promote their views and this may involve violence toward police officers,” Sgt. Julie Gagnon said in an email. “There are officer safety concerns when dealing with followers of this movement during routine police interaction.”

Last month, the Anti-Defamation League published a report that described the so-called “sovereign citizen movement” as “one of the most problematic domestic extremist movements in the United States,” attracting mostly middle-aged or older men who are financially stressed, angry at government regulation or who want “something for nothing.”

The report cited the 2010 shooting deaths of two West Memphis, Ark., police officers during a traffic stop. The suspects, a father and son who were later killed in a shootout with police, belonged to the sovereign citizen movement.

Earlier this year, a Nova Scotia jury convicted a man of uttering a threat to kill police officers and for multiple firearms offenses. Court records state that Daren McCormick, a Freeman on the Land follower, told an officer that he could outdraw police and that if a police cruiser ever pulled up in his yard, he’d kill the officers. When police moved to arrest him the following day, they found him with a loaded .44-calibre revolver in a holster strapped to his hip.

McCormick asserted that the doctrines of Freeman on the Land free him from the Criminal Code, including its gun laws, and that he was free to carry a gun even to go grocery shopping, according to the records. He also claimed his right to travel highways without a license or registration.

Last year, RCMP officials in B.C. issued a bulletin to officers urging them to be cautious when dealing with suspected Freemen because of their belief in the right to use force in defense of their land, property and family.

The bulletin said some followers may refer to themselves using the phrase “of the family,” such as “John of the Family Smith,” or claim to be a “Son of God.”

They also may present to officers a document that they believe exempts them from the authority of the police and entitles them to charge fees if they are detained. “Subjects make continued use of nonsensical legal/quasi-legal jargon,” the bulletin said.

Some Canadian judges have expressed frustration with Freemen tying up the court system.

In September, John Rooke, associate chief justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench in Alberta, issued a scathing ruling against a self-described Freeman, Dennis Larry Meads, for holding up his divorce proceedings by making “bluntly idiotic” arguments.

At one point, court records state, after the judge informed Meads of the basics of family law proceedings, Meads replied that “there are rules above man’s rules, and God’s laws is where your laws originated from.”

The judge characterized the “gurus” behind the Freeman on the Land and similar movements as “nothing more than “con men,” who pitch distorted world views on followers through seminars, books, websites and DVDs.

© Copyright Times Colonist

Jefferson on the Freedom of the Press

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Colonel Charles Yancey (6 January 1816) ME 14:384.

No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Judge John Tyler (June 28, 1804); in: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition (ME) (Lipscomb and Bergh, editors), 20 Vols., Washington, D.C., 1903-04, Volume 11, page 33.


Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. James Currie (28 January 1786) Lipscomb & Bergh 18:ii.


The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Colonel Edward Carrington (16 January 1787) Lipscomb & Bergh ed. 6:57.

To preserve the freedom of the human mind then and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom; for as long as we may think as we will, and speak as we think, the condition of man will proceed in improvement. - Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Green Mumford (18 June 1799).

I am  for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents.- Letter to Elbridge Gerry (January 26, 1799); in: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition (ME) (Lipscomb and Bergh, editors), 20 Vols., Washington, D.C., 1903-04, Volume 10, page 78.

I have stated that the constitutions of our several States vary more or less in some particulars. But there are certain principles in which all agree, and which all cherish as vitally essential to the protection of the life, liberty, property, and safety of the citizen [...] Freedom of the press, subject only to liability for personal injuries. This formidable censor of the public functionaries, by arraigning them at the tribunal of public opinion, produces reform peaceably, which must otherwise be done by revolution. It is also the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral, and social being. - Thomas Jefferson to A. Coray a.k.a. Adamantios Koraes, October 31, 1823. The letter can be found in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Andrew A Lipscomb and William Elery Bergh, 20 volumes, (Washington, D.C.: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, 1901-04), at page 489 of volume 15.

An hereditary chief, strictly limited, the right of war vested in the legislative body, a rigid economy of the public contributions, and absolute interdiction of all useless expenses, will go far towards keeping the government honest and unoppressive. But the only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted, when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Marquis de la Fayette (November 4, 1823); in: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition (ME) (Lipscomb and Bergh, editors), 20 Vols., Washington, D.C., 1903-04, Volume 15, page 491.