America's Hope (In Troubled Times)

The following nine quotes from various government and other leaders might be of interest to you. These are taken from Kelly Wright's book America’s Hope (In troubled times)


1.Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts is predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.

-John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776

2.Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safely, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, the people alone have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute government; and to reform, alter, or totally change the same, when their protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness require it.

-John Adams, Thoughts on Government,1776

3.It is the duty of all men in society, publicly, and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship.

-John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776

4.I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally , that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.

-George Washington, Circular Letter of Farewell to the Army, June 8, 1783

5.Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle.

-Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

6.Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. … The chain reaction of evil – hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars – must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963

7.The Church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the State, but rather the conscience of the State. It must be the guide and the critic of the State, and never its tool. If the Church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963

8.Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? 1967

9.The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., Speech at Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963

Kelly Wright, America’s Hope (In troubled times), Worldwide Distribution, Hagerstown, 2010 [Pages 205-208]