Before The Crash
He who thinks he knows, doesn't know.
He who knows that he doesn't know, knows.
For in this context, to know is not to know.
And not to know is to know.
*From the Tao-te Ching.
“It is more
important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be
punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world
that they cannot all be punished. But if innocence itself is
brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the
citizen will say, "whether I do good or whether I do evil is
immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection," and if
such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the
citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.”
John Adams
“But a Constitution of
Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.
Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” John Adams
“There are two ways to
conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is
by debt.” John Adams
"Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand. Ignorance and
prejudice and fear walk hand in hand." - RUSH
Atlas Shrugged, 1961
Dr. Ferris smiled. . . . . . "We've waited a long time to get
something on you. You honest men are such a problem and such a
headache. But we knew you'd slip sooner or later - and this is just
what we wanted."
"You seem to be pleased about it."
"Don't I have good reason to be?"
"But, after all, I did break one of your laws."
"Well, what do you think they're for?"
Dr. Ferris did not notice the sudden look on Rearden's face, the
look of a man hit by the first vision of that which he had sought to
see. Dr. Ferris was past the stage of seeing; he was intent upon
delivering the last blows to an animal caught in a trap.
"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said
Dr. Ferris. "We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that
it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against - then you'll know
that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We're after power
and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick,
and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent
men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on
criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.
One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible
for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of
law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass
the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor
objectively interpreted - and you create a nation of law-breakers -
and then you cash in on guilt. Now, that's the system, Mr. Rearden,
that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier
to deal with."
This reminds me of a quote by Lord
Alexander Tytler:
"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."
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and
bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against
tyranny in government." - Thomas Jefferson
"Good people do not need laws to tell them
to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the
laws." - Plato
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people
who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about
it." - Albert Einstein-
LUKE 12:47-48.
http://www.pwt3.com
"They that can give up essential liberty
to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin