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No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.
No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of read more
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and read more
There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses. Both the strong and the weak grasp at this alibi. The latter hide their malevolence under the virtue of obedience: they acted dishonorably because they had to obey orders. The strong, too, claim absolution by proclaiming themselves the chosen instrument of a higher power- God, history, fate, nation or humanity.
To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence read more
To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief from the burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility.
To say that a farm boy knows how to milk a cow is to say that we can send him read more
To say that a farm boy knows how to milk a cow is to say that we can send him out to the barn with an empty pail and expect him to return with milk. To say that a criminologist understands crime is not to say that we can send him out with a grant or a law and expect him to return with a lower crime rate. He is more likely to return with a report on why he has not succeeded yet, and including the inevitable need for more money, a larger staff, more sweeping powers, etc.
The incestuous relationship between government and big business thrives in the dark.
The incestuous relationship between government and big business thrives in the dark.
The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of read more
The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.
He has been called a mediocre man; but this is unwarranted flattery. He was a politician of monumental littleness.
He has been called a mediocre man; but this is unwarranted flattery. He was a politician of monumental littleness.
Even a cursory glance at history should convince one that individual crimes committed for selfish motives play a quite insignificant read more
Even a cursory glance at history should convince one that individual crimes committed for selfish motives play a quite insignificant part in the human tragedy, compared to the numbers massacred in unselfish loyalty to one's tribe, nation, dynasty, church, or political ideology, ad majorem gloriam dei. The emphasis is on unselfish. Excepting a small minority of mercenary or sadistic disposition, wars are not fought for personal gain, but out of loyalty and devotion to king, country or cause. Homicide committed for personal reasons is a statistical rarity in all cultures, including our own. Homicide for unselfish reasons, at the risk of one's own life, is the dominant phenomenon of history.