Quote of the Day: The Fragility of Democracy

 

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over a loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by Dictatorship.

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.

The Obituary follows: ‘United States of America,’ Born 1776, Died 201?”

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior.

I was both intrigued and disturbed by this “obituary.” In one way, I can say that America has survived through many difficult times. But there are two factors that are coming together that cause me concern. One is that we may have reached the stage of complacency: people don’t know America’s history against adversity, the strides we have made in the world, and what we stand for. This story is not being taught in schools. Along with that dearth of information, America is also being attacked by the Left: lies are being perpetuated, misinformation is being distributed, and the values we stand for are being debased. It is like we are falling into an abyss and poison is being tossed in after us.

Still, I have great faith in this country. Of late, with the efforts that are being made to stop the destruction and get to the truth, I still hold on to hope that America has a bright future.

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  1. barbara lydick Inactive
    barbara lydick
    @barbaralydick

    Was going to use this one day for a QOTD piece, but it fits so nicely here.  It is from Justice Learned Hand from his “Spirit of Liberty” speech:

    “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it…”

    • #31
  2. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    barbara lydick (View Comment):
    “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it…”

    We have to love what we wish to preserve. 

    • #32
  3. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    barbara lydick (View Comment):

    Was going to use this one day for a QOTD piece, but it fits so nicely here. It is from Justice Learned Hand from his “Spirit of Liberty” speech:

    “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it…”

    It’s wonderful, @barbaralydick. And although we do repeat quotes at times, I used that quote a few months back. It’s a great one and worth repeating!

    • #33
  4. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    My biggest concern would be the combination of contempt, disdain and ego those who consider themselves the gatekeepers seem to have today not just for their current political opponents, but for the Founding Fathers and the Constitution they put in place. It’s shifted things from a desire for a “Living Constitution” to open hostility to the original document and the racists/sexists/homophobic people who wrote it (homophobic? — if in the left’s eyes, if they’re all privilege-reeking dead white males, they had to be that).

    It’s a hatred of America’s past, the lack of desire to learn anything from history, and the ego to think if the country only did things their way, we would have heaven on Earth, even though in the areas of the country they’re governing right now, that’s not quite what’s happening. There’s always been a certain segment of the population that’s thought that way (Alger Hiss was no Yankee Doodle Dandy when he was working for FDR), but over the past half century that sneering contempt for the past has broken out from the ideological cranks and now is pretty much standard thinking among the nation’s pop culture arbiters. And you can’t have a nation last forever if a significant number of people hate everything it’s stood for, and won’t be happy unless everything is fundamentally changed.

    • #34
  5. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Jon1979 (View Comment):
    And you can’t have a nation last forever if a significant number of people hate everything it’s stood for, and won’t be happy unless everything is fundamentally changed.

    I can’t bear to follow this line of thinking, even though I think you are spot on, @jon1979. I refuse to contemplate our country heading in this direction. What’s difficult is that if there is to be a solution, it will be multi-faceted and I don’t think we are set up to bring all the potential strategies together. Instead, we flounder around, cry out and express our frustration. And now they have such momentum. Maybe, just maybe, the results of government investigations will reflect on their motives, at the very least.

    • #35
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