How does a country go from a global leader to just one of many nations whose people live to serve government, instead of government existing to serve them? At our greatest, the United States of America was a picture of the multiplicity of benefits and the unlimited potential mankind possesses to make his life comfortable and as happy as possible; given the freedom to live as one chooses, to freely conduct business that serves his rational self-interest, and to pursue dreams unique to each individual’s intellect. No matter your opinion of the United States these days, I think there is no denying that America reached global super-power status on the strength of rugged individualism and respect for each other’s rights.
We are not the first or the only nation to have achieved global supremacy, and it appears that we may not, unfortunately, be the last. Consider for a moment, if you will, the following:
“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.”
The quote is attributed to Dr. Alexander Tytler, a Scot professor, allegedly wrote a scholarly tome, from which this concept comes, called “The Athenian Republic” which was published shortly before the thirteen American colonies gained independence from Britain in 1776. (No record of this publication can be found to verify authenticity). Regardless of the source of if it is a mix of quotes, I find it amazing how much we have forgotten and how little we’ve learned over 233+ years.
