“There is no form of government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other.”
Benjamin Franklin (1705-1790)
What is despotism? According to Oxford, it is ruling with absolute power, especially exercising it in an oppressive way.
Then what does Franklin mean?
Franklin considered the intrusion of gubment into our lives as corrupting.
As individuals we would become corrupted. As states we would become corrupted. As a society we would become corrupted. And our gubment, federal and otherwise, would become corrupted.
His word is "the people." WE ARE THE PEOPLE!! AND WE ARE BECOMING CORRUPTED!!
There is a reason the Founding Fathers sought to break from the despotism of England. They sought to create a society based on individualism, a society with freedoms for its citizenry, the people, to act and not be so acted upon, with abilities to do and create and become!
There is only one economic system that can combine with such a free political system. Only a free-market system, with free and voluntary enterprise, can act with such a system.
Every day we are delivering our founded freedoms over to the Nannie Gubment to do for us better than we can do for ourselves.
WHY should we feed our own children when school will do it?
WHY should we go to a bank for a home loan or student loan when the gubment will do it?
WHY should we provide our own retirement when the "system" will do it?
WHY should we choose a car to drive when the gubment will make it and do it?
WHY should we select our own light bulbs, for crying out loud, when Nannie will do it?
WE ARE TURNING OURSELVES OVER TO A FOURTH BRANCH OF GUBMENT! THE ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH!!
How many millions of people are employed, on all levels of gubment, to administer the millions of laws and regulations that they create to impose upon our lives?
And how many of these regulations have criminal penalties attached? Who can possibly know all these regulations? Nobody. THAT is despotism.
Think quickly - name something in your house that is NOT regulated by Nannie Gubment?
NAME IT!!
This is creeping despotism. This is creeping CORRUPTION!
This would frighten the bejeebies out of the Founding Fathers.
My favorite line from the Declaration of Independence, which I quote very often is this: "He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance."
Is that not what we have allowed to happen and are allowing to happen more and more every day?
And this has made us and is making us CORRUPT. Not my word, Franklin's word!
We need more free enterprise and freeDOM. FreeDOM to act more for ourselves and not to be so acted upon.
We need to get away from Pogo's Declaration of Despotism, who said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
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