I have to say, Jefferson’s words (which, of course, applied only to wealthy white men) get to me every time. Who can reasonably argue with the idea that the ideal government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed? Informed consent can only be given based on knowledge of the alternatives. This remains true today, when tsunamis of deliberate disinformation can drown all reasonable discussion among those who must give their consent. Here’s Heather:

The Founders of what would become the United States rested their philosophy on an idea that came from Locke’s observations: that individuals had the right to freedom, or “liberty,” including the right to consent to the government under which they lived. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” Thomas Jefferson wrote, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and that “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

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