How Long Do We Have?
#1
How Long Do We Have?
About the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the Universityof Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the AthenianRepublicsome 2,000 years prior:
"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 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 due to loose fiscal policy, which is
always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the
beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200
years, these nations always progressed through the following
sequence:
1. >From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. >From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. >From courage to liberty;
4. >From liberty to abundance;
5. >From abundance to complacency;
6. >From complacency to apathy;
7. >From apathy to dependence;
8. >From dependence back into bondage ."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul,
Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
1. Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143
million;
2. Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000; Bush: 2,427,000;
3. States won by: Gore: 19 Bush: 29
4. Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the tax-paying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements living off government welfare."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency &apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some 40 percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
Knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.
I posted this as I thought it was interesting, But Im sure someone will get thier tail feathers ruffled..
"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 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 due to loose fiscal policy, which is
always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the
beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200
years, these nations always progressed through the following
sequence:
1. >From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. >From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. >From courage to liberty;
4. >From liberty to abundance;
5. >From abundance to complacency;
6. >From complacency to apathy;
7. >From apathy to dependence;
8. >From dependence back into bondage ."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul,
Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
1. Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143
million;
2. Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000; Bush: 2,427,000;
3. States won by: Gore: 19 Bush: 29
4. Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the tax-paying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements living off government welfare."
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency &apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some 40 percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
Knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.
I posted this as I thought it was interesting, But Im sure someone will get thier tail feathers ruffled..
Last edited by PriusGuy04; 03-08-2006 at 03:27 AM.
#4
Re: How Long Do We Have?
Originally Posted by wskytngo
You posted this because your a cherry picking dick.
Yes I thought it was an intresting article that could be thrown in to anythig goes.
LOL I didnt think I would ever get a Rise out of a boob so quickly wskytno..
#5
Re: How Long Do We Have?
I agree that more welfare bums vote [D] than [R]. And not everything about conservatism is bad. I'm basically a Socialist, but I could vote for John McCain or Bob Ehrlich with a clear conscience.
The trouble with Bush is that he's simply a very, VERY bad president. Other than the wealthiest 1%, I believe he has betrayed everyone else who voted for him.
The trouble with Bush is that he's simply a very, VERY bad president. Other than the wealthiest 1%, I believe he has betrayed everyone else who voted for him.
#6
Re: How Long Do We Have?
McCain- yes. absolutely. (but I'm not biased or anything )
Ehrlich- gotta think about that.
Pataki- now there's an option, maybe?
My McCain '08 sticker next to the hybrid badge raises more than a few eyebrows at a stoplight...
Ehrlich- gotta think about that.
Pataki- now there's an option, maybe?
My McCain '08 sticker next to the hybrid badge raises more than a few eyebrows at a stoplight...
#9
Re: How Long Do We Have?
The Nation has gone through other highly partisan times before, and will again.
Right now, the thing to win much of the population over is to be a less highly polarized/ing talking head and with less pitching primarily to the respective party bases. A little bit of old-school gentlemanly diplomacy rather than hurling ICBMs at one another. The middle road completely satisfies nobody, but also spurns far fewer. Perhaps the Nation is ready for that phase of political behavior.
It will never be solved, but generally more civil, inclusive discourse goes a long way towards softening the edges in almost any arena. Until someone decides to push the envelope to gain an edge, then others follow, spiralling again. After that becomes the norm, someone dares to be 'different' by being civil, and everyone starts to follow, spiralling that way.
Any time there is a normal mode of operation that has been established for some time, the person who times being different (by luck, usually, and not "too" different) takes the pot. That then looks like a good idea, everyone follows, then that becomes the norm. Repeat cycle.
Harmonic motion is a fascinating thing that describes so much in so many arenas.
Right now, the thing to win much of the population over is to be a less highly polarized/ing talking head and with less pitching primarily to the respective party bases. A little bit of old-school gentlemanly diplomacy rather than hurling ICBMs at one another. The middle road completely satisfies nobody, but also spurns far fewer. Perhaps the Nation is ready for that phase of political behavior.
It will never be solved, but generally more civil, inclusive discourse goes a long way towards softening the edges in almost any arena. Until someone decides to push the envelope to gain an edge, then others follow, spiralling again. After that becomes the norm, someone dares to be 'different' by being civil, and everyone starts to follow, spiralling that way.
Any time there is a normal mode of operation that has been established for some time, the person who times being different (by luck, usually, and not "too" different) takes the pot. That then looks like a good idea, everyone follows, then that becomes the norm. Repeat cycle.
Harmonic motion is a fascinating thing that describes so much in so many arenas.
#10
Re: How Long Do We Have?
Originally Posted by AZMerf
Republicans god-like, Democrates scum. Yes, we've heard it all before. How do we fix it?
People keep electing the same corrupt trash into public office and then wonder why government is getting worse.
We're American citizens. We deserve better.