Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.
John Adams, Founding Father US, 1776
Kees van der Leun
A strength of the US from the late 19th to early 21st centuries. “science” also has been a strength of the US in a revolutionary era sense of a collective pursuit of knowledge and improvement not beholden to tradition, kings or favor. An even more essential strength we’ve lost. John Adams April 1776
