I have reproduced the following quote from historian Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler in the late 18th century many times in my Townhall and other articles over the years. But it is so good, and so perceptive, and so needed, and I constantly have new readers (I hope), that I simply must quote it again and make some relevant comments on current America.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this 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 apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”