From Apathy to Dependence‏

-By Vince Johnson

There is an interesting opinion making the rounds that I believe precisely describes the realities of the current state of affairs.  There is  an issue as to who wrote it and when it was written but there is  no doubt in my mind that these words accurately describe what is happening in America today

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

Oddly enough, most commentary on this has to do with who actually wrote it and when it actually written.  To me it doesn’t matter.  We have reached the point where we vote for the candidates that will give us “the most benefits from the public treasury.”  At the moment I believe we are at the “apathy to dependence” phase. 

There is no true outrage when executives of companies who received billions in bailouts use much of our money to cover multi-million dollar bonuses.  There is no true outrage when we borrow trillions from our children without their knowledge and without their approval.  These are actions that destroy much more than they will ever save.  And the destruction phase is just beginning. 

What we are doing to our children’s future is unforgivable.  The least we can do is try to warn them.

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Vince Johnson welcomes comments. Please send them to,Vince Johnson(vjadtrak@wvi.com)
See Vince in the new book Americans on Politics. Policy, and Pop-Culture.

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