Quote

Freedom is whatever the president says it is, pending revision.

James Bovard

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

James Bovard
Age: 68
Born: 1956
Born: July 22
Author
Journalist
Writer
Ames
Iowa
War
Pending
Revision
Antiwar
Says
Whatever
Freedom
Peace
President

More quotes by James Bovard

Image
Government aid programs have been endlessly expanded, and the government has sought to maximize the number of people willing to accept handouts..... Roughly half of all Americans are dependent on the government, either for handouts, pensions, or paychecks.
James Bovard
Image
Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about the Bill of Rights most of the time.
James Bovard
Image
It is absurd to expect governments to descend gradually, step-by-step into barbarism - as if there was a train schedule to political hell and people could get off at any stop along the way.
James Bovard
Image
If so many Americans are looking for the government to save them, then it is hard to have a dignified search for a shepherd in chief.
James Bovard
Image
The more freedoms Americans lose, the more dangerous government becomes.
James Bovard
Image
Throughout history, politicians have used other people's property to buy themselves power. That is the primary achievement of the welfare state.
James Bovard
Image
The more people expect from government, the more biased they become against limiting government power.
James Bovard
Image
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
James Bovard
Image
There is no safe political refuge for those afraid to take responsibility for their own lives.
James Bovard
Image
Today's citizen is obliged to find his freedom only in the narrow ruts pre-approved by his bureaucratic overlords. Risk-free liberty is the ideal of the Welfare State: citizens are permitted only liberties which have been declawed, defanged, neutered, certified and wrapped in benevolent restrictions.
James Bovard
Image
Not only has the number of government employees multiplied in recent decades, but the rise of government unions further stacks the political odds against private citizens.
James Bovard
Image
Politicians nowadays treat Americans like medical orderlies treat Alzheimer's patients, telling them anything that will keep them subdued. It doesn't matter what untruths the people are fed because they will not long remember. But in politics, forgotten falsehoods almost guarantee new treachery.
James Bovard
Image
The more government dependents, the more likely that democracy will become a conspiracy against self-reliance.
James Bovard
Image
How many McDonald's gift certificates would it take to sway a lot of Americans to pledge to never publicly criticize the U.S, President?
James Bovard
Image
It is amazing to think after all that has happened in this country in the last few years, the last few decades, that so many people have this blind faith that government is our friend and therefore, we don’t need protections against it.
James Bovard
Image
There is no virtue in denying the law of gravity, and there should be no virtue in denying the limitations of government. ... The more we glorify government, the more liberties we will lose.
James Bovard
Image
Once freedom is equated with a certain material standard of living, confiscation becomes the path to liberation.
James Bovard
Image
As soon as people drop the reins on government, government will leash the people.
James Bovard
Image
Governments and citizens blend together only in the imaginations of political theorists. Government is, and always will be, an alien power over private citizens. There is no magic in a ballot box that makes government any less coercive.
James Bovard
Image
The key question for many voters is: How much is the candidate offering for my vote?
James Bovard