Nor is the sentiment or
sense of justice usually universal in its application. As it is
manifested in individuals and communities, it too often embodies a
degree of selfishness, from which neither states nor individuals are
exempt.
In like manner the words "freedom" and "liberty," in their application,
have been limited to classes and castes, and to individual communities
and states. The earliest and best expression of the universality of
the idea of liberty belongs to America, but in America even its
practical realization is a recent event. Previous to the nineteenth
century, America was the only land in which it was possible to found a
state freed from the domination of the church, or to establish a church
free from the domination of the state; and in one half of the American
continent this degree of freedom does not exist even now, when we
approach the twentieth century.
Of the great orators of the world, it was Louis Kossuth who first gave
to the word "liberty" the largest possible signification. Burke
approached the idea, but he seemed not to comprehend its universality.
In his oration on Conciliation with America he said: "In Virginia and
the Carolinas they have a vast multitude of slaves. When this is the
case in any part of the world, those who are free are by far the most
proud and jealous of their freedom.
Pages:
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275