The
GOP misquotes the founding fathers so often it almost seems like there’s a
deliberate agenda to rewrite history and misrepresent the historical figures
that they claim to so greatly admire.
When
you hear one person after another, after another, repeating the same few made
up quotes, it almost seems as if the GOP is testing the theory behind another falsely attributed quote:
“If you repeat a lie often enough, the people will come to believe it.”That quote, which has often been attributed to Hitler’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, undoubtedly came from someone within Adolph Hitler’s administration. We know that the quote first originated in Nazi Germany.
Yet, there’s no substantiated record that can accurately pinpoint its original author.These five quotes have been repeated so many times in the past several years, and by so many different GOP and tea party leaders, that many people have no idea that they are completely made up. Especially not your average republican voters.
They have been trained to accept without question every lie that comes out of the mouths of right wing politicians and pundits, while rejecting all information that comes from outside of the bubble.
Needless to say, fact checking is not a part of their information gathering routine.
1. “The government that governs least, governs best.”
The
right wing has repeatedly and falsely attributed this quote to Thomas
Jefferson. This false attribution has been circulated in memes on social media,
repeated at political rallies, even spoken on the floor of federal and state
houses across America, by right wing frauds, dim wits and perpetual liars.
This is a real quote, but its author was not Thomas Jefferson. This quote is from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, beloved author, founder of the transcendental movement, founder of the modern day environmental movement, author of modern civil disobedience techniques, including those practiced by Martin Luther King and Gandhi.
Thoreau was a devoted supporter of racial equality, so much so that he went to jail refusing to pay taxes in opposition to legalized slavery and war.Thoreau opposed materialism and all forms of waste. He also despised the capitalist system that the right wing worships with all its greedy little heart.
He opposed religious dogma and embraced a form of religion that included only “the love of nature,” something right wing Christians clearly do not approve of. The quote appears in Thoreau’s book “Civil Disobedience,” published in 1849.
Obviously
the right wing changed the attribution, mainly so their uneducated base doesn’t
figure out that the quote comes from the writings of someone who would despise
everything that they stand for.
But
then again, Jefferson would not embrace the modern right wing, any more than
Thoreau.
Both
of these men must roll over in their graves every time someone with the tiny
intellect of Michelle Bachmann or Sarah Palin repeats this quote in an attempt
to justify their political extremism.
Clearly few conservatives have read anything written by either man.
Clearly few conservatives have read anything written by either man.
2. “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
Another
quote falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson, this false quote has been
repeated over and over by all the right wing rock stars, Michelle Bachmann,
Christine O’Donnell, Tim Walberg, Michael Steele, Austin Scott, the list goes
on and on.
This
quote has also occasionally been attributed to Thomas Paine and at other times
to Samuel Adams. The first time this quote was ever attributed to Jefferson
was in 1994. The book that attributed this quote to
Jefferson, ‘It’s All In The Game; Butterflies, Mind Control — The Razor’s
Edge,’ by Gyeorgos Ceres Hatton, is a typical right wing fear mongering,
conspiracy laden piece of hack journalism, full of erroneous quotes, paranoid
fantasies and flat out lies.
The
first time this quote appeared anywhere in print was in the ‘Barnhill – Tichenor Debate on Socialism‘,
published by the Rip-Saw Publishing Company in 1914 (page 34). The author is
not any of the founding fathers, but John Basil Barnhill, someone no-one has
ever heard of.
Of course if the right wing simply steals the quote from some dead, unknown person, then attributes it to some famous person, few people will ever be the wiser. By falsely attributing the quote to Jefferson, the GOP hacks know they have a better chance of influencing their base and convincing the idiots that follow them that they really are doing ‘what the founders intended.’
Of course if the right wing simply steals the quote from some dead, unknown person, then attributes it to some famous person, few people will ever be the wiser. By falsely attributing the quote to Jefferson, the GOP hacks know they have a better chance of influencing their base and convincing the idiots that follow them that they really are doing ‘what the founders intended.’
If
you want to do what the founders wanted you to do, you might try reading.
Jefferson was an avid supporter of education.
As
Thomas Jefferson actually did say, on May 6, 1810:
“no one more sincerely wishes the spread of information among mankind than I do, and none has greater confidence in it’s effect towards supporting free & good government.”
Or
as he said on April 24, 1816:
“enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body & mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.”
And
on October 15, 1785:
“what are the objects of an useful American education? classical knowlege, modern languages & chiefly French, Spanish, & Italian; Mathematics; Natural philosophy; Natural History; Civil History; Ethics.”
Remember
kids, tyranny and oppressions are the enemy of enlightenment and education.
3. “Most bad government is the result of too much government.”
Thomas
Jefferson also did not say this. This quote has been circulated by GOP hacks
like Alan West and Joe Scarborough. West himself wrote an entire book that was
so full of erroneous founding father quotes it made headlines for its stunning
lack of historical accuracy.
West’s book included four quotes that were falsely attributed to Jefferson, along with a list of quotes falsely attributed to other historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Patrick Henry and a host of other figures from American history.
West’s book included four quotes that were falsely attributed to Jefferson, along with a list of quotes falsely attributed to other historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Patrick Henry and a host of other figures from American history.
It
seems to me that if the founding fathers would really support your totally
irrational positions then you ought to be able to find some actual quotes to
illustrate that. Why constantly make stuff up?
4. “The Constitution is not a tool for government to restrain the people. It’s a tool for people to restrain the government.”
This
is a quote that the right wing has falsely attributed to Patrick Henry. It got
its start on the internet in 2003. According to Patrick Henry biographer,
Thomas Kidd of Baylor University in Texas, Patrick Henry never said this. When
asked about the quote, Kidd summed up his feelings about the growing number of
fake founding father quotes being disseminated on the internet by saying:
“If we admire these people, then I think we should represent what they actually said.”
I
agree wholeheartedly. Nothing shows how little you actually respect the
founders or value what they said quite like misquoting them time and time
again.
5. “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!”
Again
a quote attributed to Patrick Henry that is just a flat out fabrication. It
first appeared in a 1950′s magazine article, which was a commentary on Henry’s
Christian faith. It’s been falsely attributed to Patrick Henry by such right
wing personalities as David R. Barton (who retracted it later) and Newt
Gingrich (who was content to allow the false attribution to go unchecked.)
Kidd
has a new article out which does a good job of debunking more false quotes
which have been attributed to Patrick Henry, on
Huffington Post.
Whenever
you come across a quote on the internet, before you share it, verify it. If the
quote does not come with a reference to a particular date or publication,
that’s generally a first sign that it’s bogus.
On the other hand, some false quotes come complete with false sources, such as the first quote above, attributed to Thomas Jefferson in ‘The Federalist.’ The Federalist was written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. Jefferson had nothing to do with that work. Additionally, the quote does not appear in the Federalist at all.
On the other hand, some false quotes come complete with false sources, such as the first quote above, attributed to Thomas Jefferson in ‘The Federalist.’ The Federalist was written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. Jefferson had nothing to do with that work. Additionally, the quote does not appear in the Federalist at all.
The
right wing counts on the fact that their base is made up of very low
information voters. They can get away with attributing an erroneous Thomas
Jefferson quote to a source that wasn’t even written by Thomas Jefferson,
confident that their non-reading, education hating base, will happily
distribute the bad information far and wide, without ever questioning its
authenticity.
Author Randa
Morris has been a freelance writer for over ten years. She is an active
political blogger and administrator for several social media activism groups.