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Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. – John Adams (1814)
Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. – George Washington
The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. – Thomas Jefferson
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury.
"From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this 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 apathy;
from apathy to dependence;
from dependency back again into bondage."
"There were many special laws affecting the several kings inscribed about the temples, but the most important was the following: They were not to take up arms against one another, and they were all to come to the rescue if any one in any of their cities attempted to overthrow the royal house; like their ancestors, they were to deliberate in common about war and other matters, giving the supremacy to the descendants of Atlas. And the king was not to have the power of life and death over any of his kinsmen unless he had the assent of the majority of the ten."
Originally posted by Digital_Reality
I do understand this but there is still a balance between the two that has yet to be found.
Originally posted by GoneGrey
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I was wanting to know if anyone with a solid knowledge of history could name for me an empire, nation, state, sect, etc... that even for a brief period of time was able to successfully function under a leadership that espoused something Utopian. I haven't been able to come up with my own answer. Only in myth does it seem to exist.
It would appear to me that leaders, for the most part, have assumed that role through bloodlines or some other perceived birthright, or have resorted to violence or deception in fulfilling their lust/quest for power. Has any leader who has democratically achieved that role not eventually had their moral vision impaired or been otherwise corrupted?
Has there ever been a leadership that has not deliberately tried to oppress subjects by impoverishing them, utilizing heavy-handed military or policing tactics, or dividing them into social strata who are differently "valued"?
Have all leaders, by simple virtue of their position, lived lavish or otherwise privileged lives as compared to their subjects?
Has there been a leadership that hasn't sought to expand its borders (whatever form "borders" would take for a particular group) at the expense of others?
Perhaps there are historical examples, I just can't come up with any.
Do we not care if leadership is benevolent or tyrannical because of some innate need in humans to follow a leader (I suppose we see this in the animal world)? Why is it that when there are more followers than leaders, overtly tyrannical leaders can wield their power for decades at a time unchallenged?
Some posters on this site have suggested that it is paranoid to believe that there is some vague "they" group (NWO, Global Elite, Illuminati, you name it) that is intent on taking over the world and imposing a Georgia Guidestones-like agenda. Given our historical track record of submitting to tyrannical leadership, why would it be ludicrous for it to happen at a global level?
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I believe in my heart that the original American ideal was a progression in the right direction. Unfortunately just as those nations before us religion, world domination and greed has once again corrupted the the end result.