"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."--Benjamin Franklin, "Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor", November 11, 1755; [The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 6, p. 242, Leonard W. Labaree, ed. (1963)]What many of the supposed "safety" seekers are really doing, is dismissing the evil found in human nature. Especially the collective evil that comes from "power". As that which is possessed by those in government. For:
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."--Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton, letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887.If the people have not the means to keep 'power' in check. Then 'power' only becomes more emboldened. And this due to the fact that 'power' always seeks to enlarge itself at the expense of others.
FEAR however, is very persuasive deterrent. For even the 'power' hungry possess the instinct of self-preservation. And, if the thought of swift and sure retaliation is kept in the forefront of the potential tyrants mind. Then it tends to keep the potential tyrant in their properly designated role.
Failure to remember and abide by these maxims, has resulted in the deaths of MILLIONS. Reputable estimates place the numbers as high as 200 MILLION in the last century alone. Which leads us to the next maxim:
"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it"--George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense.
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