--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America stands for individual liberty…" description: "\"America stands for individual liberty, but that means an ordered liberty.\" — Bainbridge Colby" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/bainbridge-colby-31751_america_america-stands-for-individual-liberty-bu_2109059.png" --- # America stands for individual liberty, but that means an… ![“America stands for individual liberty, but that means an ordered liberty.” quote by Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/bainbridge-colby-31751_america_america-stands-for-individual-liberty-bu_2109059.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/bainbridge-colby-31751_america_america-stands-for-individual-liberty-bu_2109059.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/bainbridge-colby-31751_america_america-stands-for-individual-liberty-bu_2109059.png) > “America stands for individual liberty, but that means an ordered liberty.” [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual freedom requires structure to protect rights. **In simple terms:** Freedom needs order. Key Takeaway Balance liberty with law. Themes freedom order politics rights society Mood thoughtful balanced Type political philosophical When to use this quote - legislation - civil rights movements - public policy - education Key Concepts social contract civil liberties governance Questions to Reflect On - How much regulation is acceptable? - What safeguards prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Too much order can suppress freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Stands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-stands-664586/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-liberty/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-means-329279/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Ordered Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordered-liberty-1827479/) ## Related quotes > [Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/liberty-not-only-means-that-the-individual-has-both-the-opportunity/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Our contemporary Tories prefer the term 'ordered liberty' to 'freedom'. The word 'freedom' scares them; it has too much of a paleolithic ring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-contemporary-tories-prefer-the-term-ordered-liberty-to-freedom/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Politics is about maintaining a framework for ordered liberty so that people can live in the neighborhoods and the communities that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/politics-is-about-maintaining-a-framework-for-ordered-liberty-so-that/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) > [Beware how you trifle with your marvelous inheritance, this great land of ordered liberty, for if we stumble and fall, freedom and civilization everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/beware-how-you-trifle-with-your-marvelous-inheritance-this-great-land/) [Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/) > [I believe we must choose the path to faith, freedom and individual liberty. It starts with us, here today, now, Working together, with God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-w-shannon/i-believe-we-must-choose-the-path-to-faith-freedom-and-individual/) [T.W. Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-w-shannon/) > [To have a free, peaceful and prosperous world we must be ever stronger particularly in the spiritual things…It is American belief in decency and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/to-have-a-free-peaceful-and-prosperous-world-we-must-be-ever-stronger/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [We believe, as our founders did, that 'the pursuit of happiness' depends upon individual liberty; and individual liberty requires limited government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/we-believe-as-our-founders-did-that-the-pursuit-of-happiness-depends/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [So what is so strange about saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to reconstruct and reform this nation so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/so-what-is-so-strange-about-saying-i-want-barack-obama-to-fail-if-his/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [People from all over the world came to America and assimilated into a single culture rooted in the founding, which is rooted in individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/people-from-all-over-the-world-came-to-america-and-assimilated-into-a/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“I don’t care what your excuse is, I don’t care what you think God told you to do, if you are in the business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/i-don-t-care-what-your-excuse-is-i-don-t-care-what-you-think-god-told/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [It's very hard to uphold individual liberty when the person you're representing is often a crook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/it-s-very-hard-to-uphold-individual-liberty-when-the-person-you-re/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-opposed-to-any-form-of-tyranny-over-the-mind-of-man/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If conservatives really believed in individual liberty, as they endlessly claim and if they used both halves of their brains then they'd be libertarians.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/if-conservatives-really-believed-in-individual-liberty-as-they/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“State can become threat to individual life, cause of individual liberty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaushik/state-can-become-threat-to-individual-life-cause-of-individual-liberty/) [Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaushik/) ## More by Bainbridge Colby > [An intelligent and conscientious opposition is a part of loyalty to country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/an-intelligent-and-conscientious-opposition-is-a-part-of-loyalty-to/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [Americanism demands loyalty to the teacher and respect for his lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/americanism-demands-loyalty-to-the-teacher-and-respect-for-his-lesson/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [Thus, only in a hopeful and confident temper, in a proud and constructive spirit, will we rescue the present and safeguard the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/thus-only-in-a-hopeful-and-confident-temper-in-a-proud-and/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [Loyalty will not permit envy, hate, and uncharitableness to creep into our public thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/loyalty-will-not-permit-envy-hate-and-uncharitableness-to-creep-into/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [And one cannot discharge the duty of loyalty without the patient and an open minded study of the institution that marked the country and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/and-one-cannot-discharge-the-duty-of-loyalty-without-the-patient-and/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [But we must not, if we are loyal, disperse our energies in a partisan warfare that is waged without regard to its consequences to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/but-we-must-not-if-we-are-loyal-disperse-our-energies-in-a-partisan/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [The test of good citizenship is loyalty to country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/the-test-of-good-citizenship-is-loyalty-to-country/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [It is a high patriotic duty that we support and sustain the men who have been placed in position of difficulty, burden, responsibility, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/it-is-a-high-patriotic-duty-that-we-support-and-sustain-the-men-who/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [Like pictures, men should be judged by their merits and not by their defects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/like-pictures-men-should-be-judged-by-their-merits-and-not-by-their/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [I am deeply concerned with the diminution of the teaching strength of the country as a result of the disproportionately low salaries that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/i-am-deeply-concerned-with-the-diminution-of-the-teaching-strength-of/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [The social and industrial structure of America is founded upon an enlightened citizenship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/the-social-and-industrial-structure-of-america-is-founded-upon-an/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [We must be loyal to the forum of our government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/we-must-be-loyal-to-the-forum-of-our-government/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [That does not mean that we must forego just and fair criticism, or refrain from opposition to policies which are debatable or which do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/that-does-not-mean-that-we-must-forego-just-and-fair-criticism-or/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [A liberty subject to law and subordinate to the common welfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/a-liberty-subject-to-law-and-subordinate-to-the-common-welfare/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) > [We must stifle the voice of hatred and faction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bainbridge-colby/we-must-stifle-the-voice-of-hatred-and-faction/) [Bainbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) [Explore all 16 Bainbridge Colby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bainbridge-colby/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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