Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was a good and tireless writer, and he wrote The Declaration of Independence. There is much we can learn from him. Here are some of the things he said and wrote: Go and see. Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books, and personal investigation is important as well. Judge for yourself. Jefferson refused to accept other people's opinions without careful thought. "Neither believe nor reject anything," he wrote to his nephew. Learn from everyone. Jefferson once visited the French nobleman, Lafayette, and said to him, "You must go into the people's home as I have done ,look into their cooking pots and eat their bread. If you will only do this, you may find out why people are dissatisfied. " Do what you believe is right. In a free country, there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength. It is not unquestioning agreement but conflict that keeps freedom alive. Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics. He expressed his philosophy, "There are two sides to every question. If you take one side with decision and act on it with effect, those who take the other side will of course resent your actions. " Trust the future and trust the young. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness. "The earth belongs to the living generation. " He didn't fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future. "How much pain has been caused by evils which have never happened?" he remarked,"I expect the best, not the worst. " Jefferson was determined never to answer his critics because  _  .
he believed silence was a source of strength he thought it useless to defend obviously correct ideas he believed in conflict rather than in unquestioning agreement he knew the more he said ,the more people would resent him