How Long Do We Have?

[Racerbvd]

How Long Do We Have?
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 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 earlier:



'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 they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.'


'From that moment on, the majority always vote 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, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:


1. from bondage to spiritual faith;

2. from spiritual faith to great courage;

3. from courage to liberty;

4. from liberty to abundance;

5. from abundance to complacency;

6. from complacency to apathy;

7. from apathy to dependence;

8. from dependence back into bondage'



Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:

Gore: 19

Bush: 29



Square miles of land won by:

Gore: 580,000

Bush: 2,427,000



Population of counties won by:

Gore: 127 million

Bush: 143 million



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 taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...' Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.



If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.



If you are in favor of losing the USA as we know it today, then by all means, delete this message. If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

[nostatic]

Professor Olsen's analysis ranks up there with some of the most moronic things I've seen. And I've seen a lot...the "square miles won by" is especially sassy.

If you want to look at the decline of democracy, look at the track record of the government under Clinton and then Bush2.

[livi]

In short, I suppose most people dislike criminal invaders..

[tabs]

I love the new & improved Nostatus...LOL

[HardDrive]

Everyone Panic.

[Racerbvd]

Everyone Panic.

If the hilderbeast or the socialist obamma win, you better, as jobs will leave this country instead of be taxed out of business. I have talked to a few friend and they will move their money & business to avoid having the seized by socialist

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

I have talked to a few friend and they will move their money & business to avoid having the seized by socialist

I knew there was an upside to this.

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

[B]


'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.'


'From that moment on, the majority always vote 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, ..... [/I]

this is what throws me.. W Europe is leaning to greater capitalism because their socialist policies don't create enough jobs, leads to a lower standard of living and drives young job seekers overseas.

It's no secret that this is happening in WE.

[Moses]

The first candidate who clearly states that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake will have me listening. I don't care what party they represent.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I think we Snopes'd this back in 2005.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Moses

The first candidate who clearly states that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake will have me listening. I don't care what party they represent.

you'll never vote for Obama or Paul.

[Chuck Moreland]

For the history buffs (not me), what has been the cause of the fall of all the great empires? What are the common themes?

[JCF]

Gee, he left out the number of PEOPLE who voted for B vs. G
That would be ;

Gore - 50,999,897 (48.38%)
Bush - 50,456,002 (47.87%)

Maybe we should just let the land vote.

Excuse us but we are trying to have a democracy here.
You and "your friends" can always relocate to Putins Russia if you don't like it - Hell I'll pay your way if you promise to never return.

[Dottore]

Looney Tunes

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Chuck Moreland

For the history buffs (not me), what has been the cause of the fall of all the great empires? What are the common themes?

hubris

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Chuck Moreland

For the history buffs (not me), what has been the cause of the fall of all the great empires? What are the common themes?

Greed, expansion. To that extent, again the question: "How long do we have?"

[RoninLB]

Economics and war create and destroy civilizations.

[CRH911S]

I thought Gawd created America?
Seriously though, I think religion is going to be our downfall if anything.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Chuck Moreland

For the history buffs (not me), what has been the cause of the fall of all the great empires? What are the common themes?

Transfer of information, sophistication and realization from the Home Office to the colonies.

[Rick Lee]

How much empirical evidence is there really on democracies lasting around 200 years? How many democracies were there before the U.S.? England was a constitutional monarchy with a parliament. But I don't think I'd call it close to a democracy. What was before that? Ancient Athens? While I agree, it looks like our voters want and more and more from the public trough and that is very bad news for us, I don't know how it fits into some model of democracies lasting 200 yrs. and being an impossible form of government for the long term.