Food for Thought
March 21, 2007
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new
constitution
in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the
University of
Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian
Republic some
2,000 years earlier:
"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 vote 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 world's greatest civilizations from
the beginning
of history, has been about 200 years."
"During those 200 years, those 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"
Some interesting facts concerning the 2000
Presidential election:
Number of contiguous States won by: Gore: 19;
Bush: 29
Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000; Bush:
2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143
million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2;
Bush: 2.1
"In aggregate, the map of the territory
Bush won was
mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great
country.
Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in
government-owned tenements and living off various forms of
government
welfare..."
Some believes the United States is now somewhere between the
"complacency
and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy,
with some
forty percent of the nation's population already having reached
the
"governmental dependency" phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty-million
criminal
invaders called illegals and they vote, then we can say good-bye
to the USA
in fewer than five years.
Pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at
stake, knowing
that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.
OTHER RECENT NEWS
<< Previous Article: more great teachers
>> Next Article: rambling - March 25, 2007
8 Comment(s)
Russ, I 'm sure you are aware that all the Gore lovers will be to running to Urban Myths, Urban Legends etc. and telling you that info by the professor is incorrect, But, they won't tell you that sites like Urban Myths etc. are also subject to "gaming" and interpetations.
--by on 3/21/07 Lives: Dearborn
Makes you think about all the "Gore-ist" religion followers too. Where do you suppose most of them are and how much money do you think they make/contribute to our nation?
--by on 3/21/07 Lives: Michigan
I am not a \"Gore lover\" or \"Gore-ist\" nor am I foolish enough to only support and vote for any specific party, but I voted for Gore and firmly believe our country would be in a better place if he had won the election of 2000.
I am puzzled as to why the original poster cites all those demographic stats to degrade Al Gore and the AMERICANS that voted for him. As if those stats have anything to do with why our country has fallen from grace. That type of divisiveness/partisen mentality is a big part of our country's downfall.
Until our politicians can put their party's agenda aside, and resist big money/influence from special interest groups and lobbyists in the best interest of the MAJORITY, we will continue slipping into despair.
Remember that concept? Majority Rule? It saddens me to think of all the soldiers that have given their lives, and their families. They died for America, and us... Americans. Not millions of Mexican cockroaches that flood in when the lights are off to take advantage of our nations generosity, and inept politicians that are actually considering granting them amnesty. Of course, our country is a melting pot of migrants, but if you are here illegally you should be prosecuted, then promptly deported. I guess we need something like...A FENCE/STRICT BORDER PATROL to keep them from coming back the next day.
--by on 3/22/07 Lives: Michigan
Mr. K 12:00AM on 3/22/07
I liked your last article on Democracy. I assume you wrote it, if not, I'm sure you'll just tell me to do my homework again. If I were to rate it, it would go like this. At the bottom of good writers, you have Stuart Chase ( A new Deal, Tyranny of words). Ayn Rand (Altas Shrugged) and Thomas Sowell (Black Rednecks and White Liberals) are in the middle. I would put you at the top with Charles Krauthammer for your use of sound logic, and rational position.
Nope, I got it off the web.. russ
--by on 3/22/07 Lives: Dearborn
It almost sounds like you're saying there are nearly 127 million Gore supporters that mostly live in government-owned tenements and off various forms of government welfare. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services there were 2.2 million families on welfare (5.8M individuals) in 2000. There were people on welfare in every state. It certainly isn't just people on welfare that voted for Gore.
The reality is that the popular vote was almost evenly split - 50.9 million for Gore and 50.5 million for Bush.
Although I take exception to the presentation of the data here, I agree that apathy is a great danger. Our low voter turnout is sad. It reflects the view of many people that one candidate isn't really any better than the other.
--by on 4/1/07 Lives: Dearborn
Just a quick note on the 'Gore' vs 'Bush' voters:
The big cities tended to vote for Gore, and the rural areas - vast, wide-open spaces - voted for Bush. To measure, then by square-miles carried by either one is misleading. The few people in Wyoming or Montana obviously average more square miles to the person. That is not meaningful. To measure by the percentage of welfare cases in the counties carried by either one is also misleading, since the big cities with their welfare load tended to vote for Gore. There are a lot of ways that carrying the big cities could be presented in a positive light, but that wasn't what the presenter wanted.
By the way, I can't stand Al Gore, I don't ever plan to vote for him. I don't like 'facts' presented in such twisted means. GEER PARK, thanks for your graciousness in your presentation of real numbers.
--by on 4/3/07 Lives: Dearborn
This is hilarious. A bit of simple math reveals one HUGE fallacy in this email. Now, I realize math has a huge liberal bias, and addition and subtraction are just out to promote the gay agenda and destroy families, but stay with me here. From the article:
Number of states won by Gore? 19. Number of states won by Bush? 29. 19 states + 29 states = 48 states.
We have 48 states? I know it would be nice if we could get rid of the eco-nutjobs in Vermont and the liberals in MA that are destroying this country, but I'm pretty sure we still have more than 48 states.
But, in case math wasn't your area in school, here is some reading by the Department of Justice.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/htus00.pdf
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/archive.html
--by on 1/12/08 Lives: Dearborn