[Digger]

Just remember the following: "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

[steve50]

Looks like the cycle is about complete.

[philosofy123]

To add to all that list, we are prepared to spend the equivalent of $20,000/tax-payer to unseat one dictator! Leaving all the rest of the Arab dictators free. Is that going to start democracy there? Of course not! Is that going to reduce the Islamic terrorism? Of course not!

OK guys, before I get Spammed by hate mail, you think that Saddam may have a nuclear bomb, and may blow it at Time Square, OK? How about the Pakistani "Moslem" bomb, as it was called by all Moslem leaders? How about the N. Korean Bombs?

A better expenditure of our taxpayers dollars is to hire 10,000 Arabic/Persian speaking spies to penetrate all the sleeper cells. Burt noooo, what to heck do I know? Let us spend millions on listening devices? That is better gathering of "CHATTER"?---Not!

[shadowman99]

There is only one problem with his logic: name me another democracy that existed before the United States. Our founders invented modern democracy. Any democracies that have failed have been imperfect copies of our democracy. Greece is often credit as inventing democracy, but they failed and gave up on the idea. You can't look at Rome and it's Emporors. You can't look at Europe and it's monarchy. You can only look at OUR example, have faith, and VOTE.

By posting this quote, you suggest it's all over. Well, you polish the brass. But I still think this country is worth fighting for.

[Righty1]

Hard to argue against that cycle.

[expatpat]

I have a feeling that we will see this (the dictatorship stage) happen sooner in Europe, possibly England, than here.