July 4, 2006: Some Advice from the Past for George W. Bush

On the perils of empire:

The use of force alone is but temporary. It may subdue for a moment; but it does not remove the necesssity of subduing again; and a nation is not governed, which is perpetually to be conquered.

—Edmund Burke, member of Parliament, 1775

On the nature of government:

A government of laws, and not of men.

—John Adams, 1775

On the nature of assuming too much power during war:

When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.

—George Washington, 1775

On the commitment to do more than one out of three when serving the public:

I can answer for but three things: a firm belief in the justice of our cause, close attention in the prosecution of it, and the strictest integrity.

—George Washington, 1775

On the need for a free press:

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapaers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesistate a moment to prefer the latter.

—Thomas Jefferson, 1787

On the need to read Winston Churchill more closely:

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

—Winston Churchill, 1944

On the hypocrisy of conservatives who talk much about democracy:

She can talk beautifully about democracy but doesn't know how to live democracy.

—Eleanor Roosevelt, on Madame Chiang Kai-shek

May our democracy and constitution survive many more celebrations!