About the time the original 13 states were forming their new Constitution ,1787,

Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Empire 2000 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 voters discover 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 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."

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."

If you believe what he has said, where do you think we stand in 2008?

President Roosevelt felt that unemployment was the greatest threat to democracy - somewhere around 30%, they hypothesized, the peasants get the pitchforks.
Hence, the WPA - a little socialism was better than the collapse of the republic.

we stand deep in apathy .. Look at voter turn out for President vs. American Idol ...

Deep Apathy for sure and this run up in gas certainly has showed our dependence on cheep oil.

President Roosevelt felt that unemployment was the greatest threat to democracy - somewhere around 30%, they hypothesized, the peasants get the pitchforks.
Hence, the WPA - a little socialism was better than the collapse of the republic.
Joe, you really should have your own little bit, no more than a few lines in the paper. Your ability to get right to the point of the matter is really remarkable :wavey:

-spence

Apathy? Really? Because everything I've heard suggests that there is more activism and political involvement now than at anytime since the 1960's. I would not put too much stock in the Athenian model or the analysis of an obscure professor. The threats we face today are considerably less than those of the 1930's & 1940's or the 1860's.