--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the past two centuries, those who do…" description: "\"For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at every major clause of our Constitution until today we face a crisis of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg" --- # For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom… ![“For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at every major clause of our Constitution until today we face a crisis of great dimensions.” quote by Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg) > “For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at every major clause of our Constitution until today we face a crisis of great dimensions.” [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Neglecting freedom has eroded constitutional rights, creating a major crisis today. **In simple terms:** Freedom erosion threatens constitutional integrity. Key Takeaway Defend and renew constitutional freedoms. Themes freedom constitution crisis Mood concerned urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - voting - legal advocacy - education reform Key Concepts political theory civil rights Questions to Reflect On - What practical steps protect constitutional rights? - How can citizens engage constructively? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on crisis can cause fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Patriotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotic/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [The prohibition is general. 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Your families face a crisis. A crisis you did not create and could not have prevented.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/i-d-like-to-address-the-people-of-flint-your-families-face-a-crisis-a/) [Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/) > [When you face a crisis, you know who your true friends are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/when-you-face-a-crisis-you-know-who-your-true-friends-are/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [“Any idiot can face a crisis, it is day to day living that wears you out. —Anton Chekhov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-idiot-can-face-a-crisis-it-is-day-to-day-living-that-wears-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ezra Taft Benson > [What would God have me do with my life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/what-would-god-have-me-do-with-my-life/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Records, radio, television, movies, magazines-all are monopolized by the money managers who are guided by one ethic, the words wealth and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/records-radio-television-movies-magazines-all-are-monopolized-by-the/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise, he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/every-latter-day-saint-should-make-the-study-of-this-book-a-lifetime/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Do not be caught up in materialism, one of the real plagues of our generation-that is, acquiring things, fast-paced living, and securing career success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/do-not-be-caught-up-in-materialism-one-of-the-real-plagues-of-our/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. 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Prayer will open doors; prayer will remove barriers; prayer will ease pressures; prayer will give inner peace and comfort during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/man-need-not-stand-alone-prayer-will-open-doors-prayer-will-remove/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does not mean fear. A man can be humble and fearless. A man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/humility-does-not-mean-weakness-it-does-not-mean-timidity-it-does-not/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [The scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were: Alma the Younger, Paul on the road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/the-scriptures-record-remarkable-accounts-of-men-whose-lives-changed/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [That government is best which governs the least, so taught the courageous founders of this nation. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/godly-sorrow-is-a-gift-of-the-spirit-it-is-a-deep-realization-that/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) [Explore all 556 Ezra Taft Benson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [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/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. 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Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at every major clause of our Constitution until today we face a crisis of great dimensions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Taft Benson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do-not-prize-freedom-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do-not-prize-freedom-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/ezra-taft-benson-443_century_for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do_2623374.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at every major clause of our…” — Ezra Taft Benson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ezra Taft Benson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For the past two centuries, those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do-not-prize-freedom-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/for-the-past-two-centuries-those-who-do-not-prize-freedom-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```