The quotation above comes from the hand of none other than the ingenious Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. It should be taken to heart by all good Americans, because the point of what Jefferson is saying is that this is supposed to be a government of, for, and by the people, and none else. In other words, those that are in the highest and most powerful positions of governance, along with those that interpret the laws of this land, are servants of the people, and whenever that government forgets this very thing, or actively works in opposition to such, we have the makings of tyranny and thereby the reduction of, or even the elimination of our liberty, along with our freedom of conscience.
There are plenty of people that are outright scared to actually live in a democracy in the sense that they don't believe that the people, in whole, are intelligent enough, are perceptive enough, and are engaged enough, to actually make decisions that are of benefit to the people. While there is truth to that statement, the resolution to such, should not be a throwback to way governments have been in the past, and still are in many a country today which essentially represents the belief that only the elite know what is right for the people, and these elites should be in charge of the most vital and important decisions rendered upon the people, which might be okay, if those elites were actually working on behalf of the people, but in far too many cases, they are working on behalf of their own individual power, status, and lust for endless lucre, all at the direct expense of the people.
We need, therefore, not just an engaged public, but it must be the highest priority of this land to actually see that we educate all of our people, not just on the history of what this country's foundation is, but to have them be thinking and questioning people who know and thereby exercise their Constitutional rights for the betterment of society, at large. This signifies that the best opportunity for the people to live under a governance which is beneficial to them is that country in which an exceedingly high number of those people are literate and truly recognize that their input and engagement are absolutely vital if we are to keep this country in harmony with what it is supposed to be and to represent for the people.
Indeed, ignorance is not bliss and never will be, because those that desire to be free, are the same that develop and utilize their God-given gifts for the betterment of their own lives and the civilization that they are good members of, by not just questioning authority, but by seeing that said authority answers to the people, and perform their functions with the type of responsibility and care, that is necessary to assure the people that their good interests are foremost in those activities by those with power have on behalf of those same people.
In sum, each of us has a responsibility to do our fair part in contributing to the general welfare of this nation, so done by our development of our mind along with the knowledge of what this country represents and see that we apply such in our lives so as to hold to account those that we have empowered.