His point is still essentially the same, even if the roles have reversed a bit. Replace Penn family with today's government, and the governor with a citizen abo

His point is still essentially the same, even if the roles have reversed a bit. Replace Penn family with today's government, and the governor with a citizen about to give up his rights. The governor was going to give up the people's right to tax the Penn family in exchange for a one time payment. The governor would be making a short term sacrifice to help those dying on the frontier at the long term expense of the people. That is more or less how most people use the quote today. That being said, I don't think most would consider driving 120 mph while snorting coke an essential liberty. The OP makes a much more reasonable point which you refuse to address.