Where are We At?
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 7:56 pm
The following quote from Alexander Tyler-a Unversity of Edinburgh history
Professor who wrote this in 1787 (about when we adopted our Constitution) about the Fall of the Athenian Republic, was printed in our local newspaper yesterday.
" 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 will always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship." Sound familiar?
"the average age of the world's great civilizations from the beginning of
history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations have always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From great 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 arrow is where I place us. What's your opinion?
Steve
Professor who wrote this in 1787 (about when we adopted our Constitution) about the Fall of the Athenian Republic, was printed in our local newspaper yesterday.
" 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 will always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship." Sound familiar?
"the average age of the world's great civilizations from the beginning of
history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations have always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From great 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 arrow is where I place us. What's your opinion?
Steve