From Apathy To Dependency
I was just browsing around the internet and came across a quote from Alexander Tyler which I had heard a while back and have since forgotten. At no time in my lifetime has this quote had more meaning in relation to current events, and it is with that in mind I have chosen to share it with you.
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have 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 selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.”
This quote is representative of our current political State. The record numbers of new voters registering for this years election prove our country is no longer in a state of apathy as we have been for the last generation. If one were to believe the above referenced quote, this would mean we are now on a path towards dependency.
It would be hard for anyone paying attention to the current Democratic primary to argue that we are not on a course for a dependant electorate. Both Clinton and Obama tout as their strongest position, their commitment to universal health care, i.e. their promise to make the people dependant on the government for their health. This is a tactical move on the part of Democrats because they know that economic dependency leads to political dependency. Political dependency eventually leads to Totalitarianism.
The Democratic voting block is made up of largely urban, lower class neighborhoods who are swayed by the promise of more government entitlements. With each passing election season we hear more arguments from Democrats that Republicans intend to take away those entitlements and leave families starving in the streets. It is this fear tactic that cause Americans classified as “poor” to continually vote for those who promise the most from the public treasury.
The 2004 election saw the highest percentage of eligible voters since 1968 goto the polls, indicating the last two decades of apathy, or indifference, may be coming to an end. This years unprecedented rise in voter registration further indicates that Americas electorate is no longer indifferent as well, meaning dependency cannot be to far behind.
While John McCain may not be the candidate conservatives have been longing for, he is certainly better than the alternative. If McCain were to avoid the pitfalls the Bush administration consistently fell into with regards to reckless spending, we may be able to avoid a dependent electorate.
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What a misguided view. Can you now see the ‘dependency’ that actually exists, of the rich on the poor, with the trillions in the public bailing out the financial industry who extracted so much wealth - not a danger of a ‘dependent public’?
Liberals are not causing dependency, but creating opportunity for more productivity and wealth.
That includes investing in people, and it includes allowing the rewards of capitalism but preventing the massive concentrations of wealth the right-wing loves but which are bad for the society, stifling productivity, and largely behind the great depression, and now at the highest level since then.
Craig, in what way does the bailout indicate a dependency on the “poor”? The lower 50% of income earners pay a grand total of 3% of all income tax collected by the Federal Government. This means any money the Government is spending, had to have been collected from the top 50%, or rather the top 5% whom pay a total of 60% of all taxes.
You statement that liberals do not cause dependency would be laughable if I wasn’t so scared that you actually believed it. Every new proposal from a Democrat involves more government spending to take care of the people. What do you think universal health care is? Are you aware that Hawaii recently canceled their universal health care because of the high number of residents who canceled their private insurance, opting instead for the “free” government plan.
Re-read the most pertinent part of this quote:”the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy”
Can anyone deny that America has a loose fiscal policy? I am not pretending George Bush and Republicans have not contributed to that, because they surely have. The point is that the loose spending was as a direct result of their wanting to be re-elected. Just as Obama’s promise of increased spending is as a direct result of him wanting to be elected.
The only solution to the problem is for the Federal Government to return to the limitations originally set by the Constitution, leaving all other responsibilities to the States. Of course this will never happen because the majority of Americans are naive enough to believe that the Government is there to provide for them, when Governments only responsibility is to protect its citizens.