by Thomas Madison, Powdered Wig Society
In 1887 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 over 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.”
The tombstone reads:
America
Born 1776, Died 2012
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out two interesting facts concerning the last Presidential election:
Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million; Romney: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Obama: 13.2; Romney: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: “In aggregate, the map of the territory Romney won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income 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..
Three simple voter reform measures to heal America:
1. Voter ID. NOT having voter ID is STUPID!
2. Those on public assistance should not be eligible to vote. Being on public assistance is a clear conflict of interest. Is there any doubt that a candidate who promises to double the amount of welfare payments will be swept into office? No! There is NO doubt!
3. Repeal the 26th Amendment. Teenagers (generally) simply do not possess the life experience, refinement, knowledge of history, and intellectual maturity to competently make such weighty decisions. I believe the minimum voting age should be 25, and I am not opposed to additional qualifications for being granted the PRIVILEGE to vote. Despite what liberals would have you believe, voting is NOT a right. It is a privilege.
In addition, our borders should be lock-down secure. No other civilized nation permits its borders to be so wantonly violated, as America does. Until unemployment returns to a sane level, we simply do not need any more immigrants, nor do we need the additional stress on our infrastructure and government services. Every country has immigration laws, some extremely strict. Not only are America’s immigration laws exceedingly liberal, but the laws that do exist are scarcely enforced.
