October 29, 2021

(from Press Office of Congressman Chip Roy)

WASHINGTON— On Thursday, Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) delivered a speech at the University of Virginia in defense of Thomas Jefferson’s achievements and the timeless truths he articulated to help build a legacy and a country both worthy of celebration.

Congressman Roy’s key quotes are below:

• The words of the Declaration of Independence are the timeless gift that [Jefferson] gives to humanity.
• We [Americans] stand athwart tyranny, we stand athwart tyranny over the mind of men. That is the Jeffersonian legacy and that is why we put our faith in principles and not princes.
• The simple truth is in this country, in significant part due to Mr. Jefferson’s words, his work, and his many deeds- we put our faith in the people, in principles, not in princes. That is the fundamental Jeffersonian legacy, it is the fundamental truth about our country that emanates from our founding. And that is the defense of Jefferson to the extent that you’re going to mount one that matters. That is why we venerate him, to remember the principles that he articulated- better and more timely than most who have walked on this earth.
• Let us quit dwelling on the negative, on the tearing down, on the ripping up of our history, and instead, focus on the positive and what this country has achieved, the greatness — what it offers for all.

• [The Founders] didn’t need to risk it all. They didn’t need to look to the United Kingdom, to Great Britain, to a king, and literally write their death warrant and sign it and send it to the king. They didn’t have to do that. And we gloss over that in history as if it’s some small thing, as if any of us are doing anything analogous to literally telling the King to go to hell and signing the document with your name.
• It’s entirely Jeffersonian when the father goes to a schoolboard meeting in Leesburg, Virginia and says I’m going to defend my ninth grade daughter from being sexually assaulted in a bathroom at a school that I pay taxes to send her to in believing she would be entrusted by the teachers and the schoolboards there to educate her and protect her in the process. It is inherently Jeffersonian that parents are involved in the teaching of their children and that they are the ones that make the decisions about schools and not bureaucrats in a schoolboard.