At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress. In our day it appears as the struggle of freemen to gain and hold the right of self-government as against the special interests, who twist the methods of free government into machinery for defeating the popular will. At every stage, and under all circumstances, the essence of the struggle is to equalize opportunity, destroy privilege, and give to the life and citizenship of every individual the highest possible value both to himself and to the commonwealth. That is nothing new.

Theodore Roosevelt, New Nationalism Speech, 1910

This is one of my favorite speeches in American history, and if you’ve never read it I really cannot suggest it highly enough.

(via absurdlakefront)

Oh ditto, I love this speech.

via absurdlakefront