“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin
“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 and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.” – Benjamin Franklin
“We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
“If you want total security, go to prison. There you’re fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking… is freedom.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
“I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.” – Douglas MacArthur
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” – Helen Keller
The Tarkin Doctrine: “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”
― Princess Leia to Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars
3 Comments
Individually these quotes are wonderfully clear statements on the delicate balance between security and freedom but the progression from Franklin to Eisenhower to Princess Leia brought in the humorous punch that makes Political Irony a go to site.
Thanks for starting my day with a thought and a smile.
Good old Dwight David, the only republican president with any sense that I can remember. At least in the last century. Of course I’m old and my memory is going so maybe there were others?
Who is a better example of Moff Tarkin? Obama or Putin or Wen Jiabao?