Quote

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

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James Bovard
Age: 68
Born: 1956
Born: July 22
Author
Journalist
Writer
Ames
Iowa
Makes
Aliens
Political
Governments
Coercive
Power
Boxes
Ballot
Together
Private
Theorists
Government
Citizens
Imaginations
Always
Magic
Ballots
Imagination
Blend
Less
Alien

More quotes by James Bovard

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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.
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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.
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Freedom is whatever the president says it is, pending revision.
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If an election is simply a one-day snapshot of transient mass delusions, then this is not a very noble form of government.
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As we learned from the Clinton administration and much of the media, a machine gun in the hands of a federal agent is now a symbol of benevolence and concern for a child's well-being.
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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.
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Once freedom is equated with a certain material standard of living, confiscation becomes the path to liberation.
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The first step in saving our liberty is to realize how much we have already lost, how we lost it, and how we will continue to lose it unless fundamental political changes occur.
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Throughout history, politicians have used other people's property to buy themselves power. That is the primary achievement of the welfare state.
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The key question for many voters is: How much is the candidate offering for my vote?
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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.
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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.
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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
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American democracy is capsizing as a result of the vast increase in the number of government dependents and government employees.
James Bovard
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We are asking the wrong question. The issue is not who should be trusted with all the power of the Presidency. Instead, we must ask how much power any candidate can be trusted with.
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Politicians as a class are dangerous, that people who are seeking power over us are not, by definition, our friends.
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It is important to recognize and politics positive thinking is often the slaves' virtue - something that people do to con themselves about the burden and change being placed upon them.
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It has been surprising to me that so few conservatives have voiced concern over the precedence that are being set in favor of suppression by this so-called conservative administration.
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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.
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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