You Get the Government You Deserve

[limequat]

This article is on yahoo finance. Talks about Milton Friedman and Ron Paul.

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/economist/67468;_ylt=Ag_9Ahs8h2fubwIpYRJIJxG7YWsA

[Truth Warrior]

It has seemed to me for some time now, that ALL of the people get the government that MOST of the people deserve. Perhaps it has ALWAYS been that way.

Thanks!

[yongrel]

Good article. Someone should remind him though about the 25% in Montana though.

[Meekus]

Very good article.

[Libertytree]

When the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time:


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.

Alexander Tyler

[newbitech]

When the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time:


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 (YOU ARE HERE) back to bondage.

Alexander Tyler

added reference point.

[Truth Warrior]

When the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time:


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.

Alexander Tyler

Good one! Thanks!

[Libertytree]

The title of this thread got me to thinking a bit, thus posting the Tyler quote. I also think it runs deeper than "we get what we deserve". While I rant almost daily about American apathy, ignorance and or just downright stupidity and have used the "they'll get what they deserve" remark, I've also come to soften my critique of my fellow Americans though still not absolving them entirely.

From the Tyler quote we can see that it is in part a natural progression, an almost logical self destruction of sorts, inherent in the basic nature of people.

This though is where the curd separates from the cream, because when you have a government that by slight or by overt practices endeavors to undermine and strip the citizens of their freedoms it actively accelerates and promotes the destruction of that society. This is what I accuse our government of doing and why I exonerate the citizenry to point. I can't put all the blame on the victims, even though I'm personally dumbfounded at their perfect acceptance of the never ending list of governmental assaults.

I believe the lack of response, anger, protest etc..is by design. I believe it's a multi-faceted scheme directed at the majority, now when I say majority I mean all encompassing. From the poor to the rich, liberal to conservative, low IQ to high IQ, all races, all faiths etc.. The end game being, to keep the majority so overwhelmed in survival of their families that the doings of government is little more than tabloid headlines. To preoccupy the population with endless distractions (take your pick), everywhere except on their governments deceptions.

Ending my treatise on the nature of responsibility and blame I'd like to point out the foresight and brilliance of Jefferson in this matter and it's my favorite quote from him as well.



"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
We must make our election between economy and liberty
or profusion and servitude.
If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and
in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and
our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...
[we will] have no time to think,
no means of calling our miss-managers to account
but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves
to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers...
And this is the tendency of all human governments.
A departure from principle in one instance
becomes a precedent for [another ]...
till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery...
And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt.
Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."

Thomas Jefferson

[acptulsa]

So, right now we need to focus on those things that make people we need mad enough to be dissatisfied despite their bread and circuses.

Like, right now we need to be stirring discontent in Texas over the NAFTA highway and the attendant land grabs. Right now! McCain and Huckabee are both for it, and this is the thing (if there's anything) that will win us Texas.

We can stir them up. We need Texas. This will ensure him victory in his House race, too.

Can we do this?

[Truth Warrior]

Libertytree --

I like your Tyler reference. However, further research on the web claims that it is false, FWIW.

Just an FYI ........

:)

[Libertytree]

Truth Warrior,

I've read in as much myself but also have been directed that it is a viable quote. It may very well not be attributable to Tyler. Nonetheless, its pertinence can't be ignored either, based soley on the message.

Acptulsa,

One would think that a highway 8 football fields wide and thousands of miles long could not go unnoticed. Maybe I gave or give Texans too much credit, maybe they do need the particulars and the nature of the project brought before them in indisputable fact.

[acptulsa]

I would think that a highway 8 football fields wide and thousands of miles long could not go unnoticed. Maybe I gave or give Texans too much credit, maybe they do need the particulars and the nature of the project brought before them in indisputable fact.

Oh, it isn't going unnoticed. Given the state of the MSM, however, what goes unknown is the candidates' positions on it. I'd be willing to bet most don't know that McCain's all for it, and almost all would be surprised that Huckabee is, too. Texans need to know who's on their side!

[Libertytree]

acptulsa,

Are you in Texas?

[Truth Warrior]

Truth Warrior,

I've read in as much myself but also have been directed that it is a viable quote. It may very well not be attributable to Tyler. Nonetheless, its pertinence can't be ignored either, based soley on the message.

Agreed! Who really knows on the validity of the quote? Not me! I haven't read Tyler's books yet. :)

Thanks!

[acptulsa]

acptulsa,

Are you in Texas?

No, Tulsa's not quite in Texas. Close enough to drive, too damned far to walk. But my car's due out of the shop this week, so I may be able to help over the weekend, particularly along the northern edge near the Red River.

[Libertytree]

You're certainly alot closer to Texas than I am and I couldn't tell if the tulsa part of your id was geographically correct or not.

I would think though, given the Texans' stereotype that they would be raising 3 kinds of monumental hell over it.

[acptulsa]

You're certainly alot closer to Texas than I am and I couldn't tell if the tulsa part of your id was geographically correct or not.

I would think though, given the Texans' stereotype that they would be raising 3 kinds of monumental hell over it.

My thoughts exactly. We have to educate them on who is and who isn't on their side, though. Turns out, their guy is the only one on their side. Should be exceptionally convenient. How do we get the word out, though, when so much of Texas' media is composed of "good team players"?

We have a week. We need a method and the motivation.

[Truth Warrior]

Strange as it may seem, I too live in Tulsa. :)

[Libertytree]

As with people from all over the country, we ask ourselves what will it take to open the eyes of the masses? There's plenty of topics that effect any number of people or groups of people and I ask myself why these things don't concern the majority of people?

I have increasingly came to the conclusion that ignorance is indeed bliss for them and that the reality of it all is too much for them to fathom, the reality is too overwhelming and scary for them to comprehend because it destroys much of their entire belief system. A belief system that has become a cacoon of false safety and a desire to think that everything will be alright.

Maybe it will take a complete collapse of everything they know and love before the reality of it all can truly be absorbed? One would think that the evidence at hand would be more than enough, then again I've been thinking that for 25 years.

[Truth Warrior]

As with people from all over the country, we ask ourselves what will it take to open the eyes of the masses? There's plenty of topics that effect any number of people or groups of people and I ask myself why these things don't concern the majority of people?

I have increasingly came to the conclusion that ignorance is indeed bliss for them and that the reality of it all is too much for them to fathom, the reality is too overwhelming and scary for them to comprehend because it destroys much of their entire belief system. A belief system that has become a cacoon of false safety and a desire to think that everything will be alright.

Maybe it will take a complete collapse of everything they know and love before the reality of it all can truly be absorbed? One would think that the evidence at hand would be more than enough, then again I've been thinking that for 25 years.

Yep, personally I took the "red pill", concerning politics, in 1972.

[nullvalu]

digg: http://digg.com/business_finance/You_Get_the_Government_You_Deserve_3

[Libertytree]

It's a hard pill to swallow that's for sure! Digesting it is quite another matter.

[acptulsa]

Every now and then, however, we get a lever to use to pry open their eyes. In Texas right now, which we need right now, we have the NAFTA corridor. We also have, and right on the proposed route, two tv stations saying Ron Paul has dropped out--deliberate misinformation.

We need to inform their competition. See other thread.

[Libertytree]

Well, that's the rub....winning an info war is pretty near impossible, though some may be swayed.

The only way I see a salient point being made is by physical demonstration, shoes on the ground, hammering the message to the masses everyday. I mean hundreds of people if not thousands standing up and saying NO! Going to the construction site(s) and peacefully keep any work from progressing.

[Primbs]

The government is made up of people. They make mistakes and we have to suffer for that.

If we tally government mistakes made by people we would get a long list.

Government mistakes tend to be worse than small mistakes made by individuals.

[acptulsa]

Well, we've got a week and Texas is pretty damned big. Won't take many independent weeklys or paid commercials to get the word out that there's one anti-corridor candidate in the race. We have to try.

[wowabunga]

As with people from all over the country, we ask ourselves what will it take to open the eyes of the masses? There's plenty of topics that effect any number of people or groups of people and I ask myself why these things don't concern the majority of people?

To get the attention of the citizens of Texas I suppose they would need a state wide march in Texas. Here in Missouri we are working on a march to our state capitol and I can assure you one of the big questions we'll ask our elected leaders is where they stand on the mega freeway deal. I'm told it's coming right up the side of Kansas City.

In about a week or so I'll let you all see some of our organizational ideas for this march. Will say that besides a visit to the capitol, we wish to hold a town hall meeting on Saturday and we'll be taking roll call on which elected officials show up and who could not make the community event. With 4+ months notice we are expecting near perfect attendance from our leaders. Cough Cough.


Maybe it will take a complete collapse of everything they know and love before the reality of it all can truly be absorbed?

Well friends... that's one of my big motivators...! Not interested in living in log cabins or sod huts eating beans... can't stand beans.

[CurtisLow]

Bump