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The Scottish Jurist and Historian Sir Alex Fraser Tyler published a collection of lectures in 1801. He advanced a theory of democracy based on historical observation:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can exist only until voters discover that they can vote themselves largesses from the public treasury. From that time on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising 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 great 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 complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage."

IMHO, our country is very near the edge of the abyss. I hope and pray that with the Republicans controlling the White House and both Houses of Congress we can step away from the edge. But I haven't been heartened much so far.

The Pubies don't seem to understand that to win long term we gotta play hardball. Being "nice" may win a few battles, but it won't win the war. We need to "do what it takes to win."

Is there any doubt what the RATS would be doing if the situation were reversed [shudder].

I'm familiar with Tyler's writings (esp. those two quotes) and they certainly seem to be cogent. My only hope is that, upon its inception, the U.S. and its governing principles were entirely unprecedented, rendering conclusions drawn from past observations possibly obsolete, or at least in need of significant revision.

I find the insights of GK Chesterton's "What I Saw In America," to be right on target:

"The Declaration of Independence dogmatically bases all rights on the fact that God created all men equal; and it is right; for if they were not created equal, they were certainly evolved unequal. There is no basis for democracy except in a dogma about the divine origin of man."

Abandon one, surrender the other.

Thanks for posting #31. I used to have that clipped out and in my wallet long ago. Don't know whatever happened to it.

IMHO, our country is very near the edge of the abyss. I hope and pray that with the Republicans controlling the White House and both Houses of Congress we can step away from the edge. But I haven't been heartened much so far.

What I have seen isn't good. The RINO's are more interested in the status quo than anything else.