NYC Native, I don't believe that Thomas Jefferson was referring to the good, honest, and selfless men and women of this country that are serving in the military as the "patriots and tyrants". I believe that he was referring to his belief that patriots and tyrants are essentially the same animal. The founding fathers had a unique understanding of the disease of patriotism. They witnessed first-hand what a fanatical believer would do because his government told him to do it. May the good people of this country be so enraged at some point that a revolution takes place lest we lose everything we have fought for for over 225 years.