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I think the American people have forgotten some important small-r republican principles. They have forgotten tolerance, accepting that others may have differin

I think the American people have forgotten some important small-r republican principles. They have forgotten tolerance, accepting that others may have differing values and opinions, but that we need not force them to agree with us. They have forgotten that every power you let "your guy" exercise is going to be turned on you by "the other guy". They have forgotten that loyalty should be to principles, not parties or individuals, because a true principle never turns hypocrite. And they have forgotten that the responsibility for preserving liberty rests with them, not politicians, not Supreme Court justices. There are structural problems, yes, but I believe the root cause is the people's lack of education in these points. The system is made out of people.

abandonliberty 5y ago
>The system is made out of people. Yes, and a people system has serious vulnerabilities. Consider marketing, or the impact of a handful of vaccine misinformation bloggers had on a huge segment of the population. or: >“. . .it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” Those admirable qualities you mention have been not been forgotten by accident. We've been made to forget, because people without them are easier to manipulate. It's extremely hard to prevent this, because those who perpetrate it have much to gain directly, while those who prevent it do not. Consider any environmental protection law that is costly to a business - if you benefit financially you can put resources/lobbyists/marketing against it, than the volunteers who seek to protect it can. For strictly economic reasons, in the long run, the people lose. You can't really rely on "people". The vulnerabilities need to be patched.

abandonliberty 5y ago

>The system is made out of people. Yes, and a people system has serious vulnerabilities. Consider marketing, or the impact of a handful of vaccine misinformation bloggers had on a huge segment of the population. or: >“. . .it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” Those admirable qualities you mention have been not been forgotten by accident. We've been made to forget, because people without them are easier to manipulate. It's extremely hard to prevent this, because those who perpetrate it have much to gain directly, while those who prevent it do not. Consider any environmental protection law that is costly to a business - if you benefit financially you can put resources/lobbyists/marketing against it, than the volunteers who seek to protect it can. For strictly economic reasons, in the long run, the people lose. You can't really rely on "people". The vulnerabilities need to be patched.