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by George Parsons & Helen Taylor, Correspondents for the Sentinel News ...The only way they could do this was to take from those who “have” and redistribute to those who “have not.” For a long time Rome conquered wealthy neighbor states and extracted the spoils of war and tribute money, and then redistributed them amongst themselves. Finally, the internal burden was so great, and there was no one left to conquer for new sources of revenue, that Rome rotted from within – a fate we are sure to share - if we continue down the same path. Mind you, it took almost 1,000 years from start to finish for the Roman Empire.
For Americans, the answer is really quite simple. In the early 20th Century, the “Progressive Movement” became established in both political parties. This was heavily influenced by the socialist/communist, Karl Marx. The idea was that a government progresses from a Republic, through a Democracy and Socialism to achieve the ultimate pinnacle, Communism – where government supposedly cares for all the people, all the time.For Americans, the answer is really quite simple. In the early 20th Century, the “Progressive Movement” became established in both political parties. This was heavily influenced by the socialist/communist, Karl Marx. The idea was that a government progresses from a Republic, through a Democracy and Socialism to achieve the ultimate pinnacle, Communism – where government supposedly cares for all the people, all the time.
The Progressive’s purpose was to intentionally “democratize” our Republic to allow the government more power. One house of Congress was originally established to be accountable to the people, and one to the States. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution made for direct democratic elections of Senators whereby the Senate was no longer accountable to the State Government, but to the people of the State. Now we have both the Senate and the House of Representatives accountable to the people, leading more towards majority, or “mob rule.” Even though we are trying to maintain our “Rule of Law” with our Constitution, our Federal Representatives are appeasing the majority desires for more entitlement programs – leading us down the same rotten Roman road. If you have more people riding in the wagon than pulling it, the wagon will stop.
Does it help to continually cry “A Republic, a Republic, we have got a Republic, not a Democracy?” Surely education is a good thing, and there are more people today than ever spreading the facts. Whether we call ourselves a Democracy or a Republic, the bigger question is whether we, as Americans, will stop demanding these entitlement programs and return to Constitutional principles including having local needs resolved by local solutions - thereby reducing the size and power of centralized government including the Federal Government. This alone will help to restore our Constitutional Republic.
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