Yeah, I know Thomas Jefferson said this. What I meant was that "the" is the incorrect indefinite article to be used here. "A" would have been the correct indefinite article for him to use. For, there cannot be one all inclusive price of freedom. Happily, we all understood the context of what he was saying.

Anyway, I could play devils advocate here and point out that you are choosing to agree with a President. (Sincerely meant in jest)

The question I mentioned that you did not answer was this. Are you upset about the lie, the subject of the lie, or the outcome of the lie?

You hit the nail on the head with this being democracy in action. I find that most people have beliefs or stands with really no concrete reasoning for having them. Usually, it is because someone who was influential said so, or heaven for bid that they read it somewhere (usually the national supermarket checkout examiner or the like). Most will never study things out to find out why they believe what they believe. Hats off to ya, Chinasaur. I have been enjoying our little debate.