Quotes

"The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls --the worst man is as strong as the best at that game;it does not depend on what kind of paperyou drop into the ballot-box once a year,but on what kind of man you drop from your chamberinto the street every morning."
-- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Source: Slavery in Massachusetts (1854)
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Henry.David.Thoreau.Quote.DB19


"In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate -- look at his character. It is alleged by men of loose principles, or defective views of the subject, that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, men of truth, hating covetousness. It is to the neglect of this rule that we must ascribe the multiplied frauds, breaches of trust, speculations and embezzlements of public property which astonish even ourselves; which tarnish the character of our country and which disgrace our government. When a citizen gives his vote to a man of known immorality, he abuses his civic responsibility; he not only sacrifices his own responsibility; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country."
-- Noah Webster (1758-1843)
American patriot and scholar, author of the first dictionary of American English usage (1806) and the author of the 1828 edition of the dictionary that bears his name.
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Noah.Webster.Quote.A82D


"Choice by the people themselves is notgenerally distinguished for its wisdom."
-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826),
US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US PresidentSource: 1776, Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book, Wilson, ed., 1989, p. 11.
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Thomas.Jefferson.Quote.3488