Friday, November 7, 2008

God Bless America!!!

That's all.

I must have a flag photo around here somewhere, and I know that we are the luckiest folks with the greatest obligations to those who have given us freedom that human history has ever known...and we owe each moment of choice to those that strained to know human nature itself...

"...If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure. There are but two methods of providing against this evil: the one by creating a will in the community independent of the majority that is, of the society itself; the other, by comprehending in the society so many separate descriptions of citizens as will render an unjust combination of a majority of the whole very improbable, if not impracticable. The first method prevails in all governments possessing an hereditary or self-appointed authority. This, at best, is but a precarious security; because a power independent of the society may as well espouse the unjust views of the major, as the rightful interests of the minor party, and may possibly be turned against both parties. The second method will be exemplified in the federal republic of the United States. Whilst all authority in it will be derived from and dependent on the society, the society itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority..."

And yet...any disparate coalition of common interests may be coalesced into a majority, (I would like to read the rest of that one,) if only for a time...for power...and then?

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
Thomas Jefferson

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