"Death of Democracy"

[JTHunter]

Before anybody mentions it - yes, I know what we have is technically a "representative republic" but so many use the word "democracy" instead.  This is also 23 years old but I believe it is still true.

DEATH OF DEMOCRACY

At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in the year 1787, Alexander Tyler (a Scottish history professor at The University of Edinburgh) had this to say about ‘The Fall of The Athenian Republic’ some 2,000 years prior.
“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 complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.”

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the most recent Presidential election:

Population of counties won by:
Gore = 127 million - - - - Bush = 143 million

Square miles of land won by:
Gore = 580,000 - - - - Bush = 2,427,000

States won by:
Gore = 19 - - - - Bush = 29

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore = 13.2 - - - - Bush = 2.1

Professor Olson adds:
“In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the tax-paying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off government welfare...”. Olson believes the U.S. is now somewhere between the ‘complacency’ and ‘apathy’ phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy; with some 40 percent of the nation’s population already having reached the ‘governmental dependency’ phase.

[JTHunter]

This is a bit disappointing.  I had hoped to spark some responses from you folks and get some of your opinions on what you thought of this. 

[RoadKingLarry]

Is there a sports ball game on tonight?

I think we as a nation have started on the "From apathy to dependence" phase. I don't see it getting any better. Those that work for their living are just about out numbered by those that vote for their living.
I'm not terribly optimistic.

[230RN]

Seems like most of that has been deduced by observation of recent, as opposed to ancient, history.

Barring major countering events, predicting the progression to dictatorship is obvious.  I believe Will Durant said that all governments trend toward tyranny.

Let's face it. The essential function of any government is to keep people from doing things.

I found it amusing that many of the objections to King George's rule in the Declaration of Independence are becoming relevant again, today, with appropriate substitution of modern people right here within the U.S.A.

The internet may become that major countering event, or it may simply speed up the progression to totalitarianism. Time will tell.

Terry, 230RN

[230RN]

https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/resources/text

I direct your attention to what I call the "He has..." clauses.

Read them with a "modern eye."

Terry, 230RN

[JTHunter]

Larry - we share the same pessimism as I think we are already moving into the last phase, from "dependence" and back into "bondage".
A good example of that would be the "Patriot Act" that "Shrub" gave us 20+ years ago. 

[JTHunter]

https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/resources/text

I direct your attention to what I call the "He has..." clauses.

Read them with a "modern eye."

Terry, 230RN

Good post Terry.
Near the bottom of the second paragraph (just before the "He has...") is this part -

But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.

For the last 50-80 years, the federal (feral??) government has been "assuming" powers they were never meant to wield.  They have usurped these powers from the People despite the fact that the Constitution expressly forbids the Government from doing what they are doing.

[230RN]

I wisecracked recently that maybe judges are starting to realize the Constitution means what it says, and doesn't mean what it didn't say.

I'm looking to a lot of fallout from the Bruen decision as well as some others which I cannot (ahem) mention.  A lot of fallout.

Are those guys interpreting Constitutional law or making law?

I also wisecracked that we should send dictionaries to every judge and justice in the country.

Terry, 230RN