Mike Heyd

“we hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, “that Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence.” The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an unalienable right.”
― Christopher Burkett, 50 Core American Documents: Required Reading for Students, Teachers, and Citizens

“What must we provide to children born in the 2020s so that they will live in a land of the free in the 2070s? Three new rights would complement Jefferson’s traditional ones: the right to vote, the right to one’s mind, and the right to health care.”
― Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

“We have to see freedom as positive, as beginning from virtues, as shared among people, and as built into institutions.”
― Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

“We the people” will be sovereign in government only when individual persons are sovereign in their lives. Only the unpredictable voter (in the unrigged district in the unmonetized election) gets the attention of the candidate. A person who is socially mobile will believe that better futures are possible and will vote for the candidate who offers one. A person who expresses solidarity will care about the votes of others; a person who cares about factuality will count the ballots. Democracy remains the best available way to address differences in value commitments.”
― Timothy Snyder, On Freedom