And the pendulum swings...
"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 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 world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always 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 into Bondage."
~Alexander Tytler "Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic"
(I have corrected some grammar errors previously polluting this quote. Also, no record of this quote could be found in the Library of Congress. Refer to http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp for details.)
Some believe we are now moving from Complacency to Apathy, with some 40% of Americans stretched toward Dependency.
Evidence: Mainstream music's reaction to Vietnam as opposed to its reaction to terrorism and the war in Iraq. Nearly nonexistent.
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always 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 into Bondage."
~Alexander Tytler "Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic"
(I have corrected some grammar errors previously polluting this quote. Also, no record of this quote could be found in the Library of Congress. Refer to http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp for details.)
Some believe we are now moving from Complacency to Apathy, with some 40% of Americans stretched toward Dependency.
Evidence: Mainstream music's reaction to Vietnam as opposed to its reaction to terrorism and the war in Iraq. Nearly nonexistent.