Reply #13: yep, that's it [View All]

[Lexingtonian]

Freedom is what your masters let you have, and what you then in turn take away from other people. That's what they mean. And that's why kleptocracy is where we always end up when they run things.

As for this preachy Republican, you may want to ask him next time around exactly what 'res publica'- matter of the public welfare- his party represents, and whether it really acts in the best interests of the whole society. Or whether it's just oligarchy with a pretense of public service. And yes, it's the same thing- dressed up as government. The Founders created a hybrid form of government with lots of compromises- if the elite failed, the People could still correct things, and vice versa. The lie in his argument is that the 'representative' part does not annul democracy- in aggregates, actual representatives act according to its demands and constraints.