Dave Stadt wrote:
"Jeff Franks" wrote in message
...

"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 - Circa 1780 - discussing the fall of the Athenian
Democracy.



I'd say we're about at the complacent stage.....


I'd vote for apathy.


Apathy was killed by the Disco Fever in the 70's.

Did you not hear the wailing and nashing of teeth when they cut
welfare/job training to TWO YEARS. Poor seniors will all starve to
death if we dare cut into social security (ignoring the fact that
there's no way we'll be able to keep paying for it). And what are we
going to do if the FEDERAL government doesn't send money to teach little
Johny how to read?

Sorry. We're way into the dependancy zone, and with all the people
willing to give up every basic civil right to win some protection from
'terrorist' and 'drugs', I'd say we're falling over into the bondage region.


--
http://www.ernest.isa-geek.org/
"Ignorance is mankinds normal state,
alleviated by information and experience."
Veeduber