Government is not reason, and it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master: never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." -- A popular Americanism of unknown origin, usually attributed to George Washington, although no one I know of has proven his authorship. Nomatter, it's true, it's popular, and I won't let it die. You may as well attribute it to yourself to avoid getting sidetracked into arguments about quotations instead of about rights. Using unverifiable quotations plays into the hands of the enemies of individual rights, as they can then focus only on the quotations, and not the concepts.