Succinctly put!  And therein lies our dilemma — we must apply our perpetual attention upon our representatives to keep them in check.

Trade is the lifeblood of civilization — stop the flow and commit suicide.

Which is why a republican form of government keeps power decentralized and liberty maximized.  With every new 'emergency' the lust for power takes advantage — no one's liberties are safe.

Succinctly put!  This is the quintessential argument for a republican form of government.

The smiling face of fascism.

Such is the way of war.

How apropos for today's pandemic global lockdown.  Let's hope this is the beginning of the end.

I like "their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests" — Right On!  The global pandemic response is just another prime example — watch for all the elitists pushing their globalist agendas during times of crisis, arbitrarily claiming power to dictate to the masses what they can and cannot do.  Very dangerous precedents are being set here.

A socially engineered society (i.e. socialism) employs a great number of analysts that develop mathematical models to predict human behavior.  In order to promote or deter certain behaviors, these models are tweaked to show extreme possibilities of end-of-world scenarios.  Time and time again these reports are used as a basis for authoritarian measures to assume power and funnel rivers of energy/wealth to themselves while taking power from the people.  Thus we see governments taking advantage of the pandemic situation and borrowing trillions to fund projects that have nothing to do with the pandemic.  The goal of the statist authoritarians is to get people to obey, by any means necessary.  Never let a crisis go to waste...

Will the authoritarian response to the WuFlu pandemic do more damage than good?  Can we as a populace be informed and act accordingly?  Must government authorities assume power to dictate in the name of public safety?  Who benefits most by breaking people economically and making them dependent upon government?  How to stop unconstitutional power grabs during states of emergency?  Our rights and freedoms are most important in times of emergency, they are not to be laid down — ever.

How'd that work out there, Robert?

Thank you for your service, Waffler.  Please do forgive my hard headedness and ill formed and ill conceived opinions. ;-)

Right on, Logan!

Hey, Robert, I'd like to read your book!

Nails it.

Hear, hear!  That's what we thought journalists were doing, but it has been fake news for a long time now.

I don't hate liberals, and I certainly don't hate Robert -- I love Robert!  I am merely trying to understand him.

Faith in government comes to mind ...

I like "A sovereign is BORN in adversity."  You're right!

This is the justification of the-powers-that-should-not-be everywhere — to conceal the truth from the people for their own good.  Forget about the fact that the bureaucrats are just people as well.  It is the lust for POWER that tramples all — by any means necessary. 

Who would have thought that social-media would end up with the power that is has?  Propaganda has become a staple to the world's cultures now.  The Thought Police are privateers that profit from the party line.  Gossip is testimony.  Innuendo is truth.  Like Madonna, constantly reinventing themselves into dependent blamers.  Identity politics so disturbing, that Americans do not even know who they are any more!  The truth is not broadcast — and if it is, it is soon shut down.

GUTS!  It takes guts to face one's fears.  Otherwise, we are easily manipulated by ginned up Chicken Little's.  One cannot face hard and ugly truths without guts.  It takes guts to truly express oneself.  It takes guts to put up a fight against overwhelming odds.  It takes guts to take a stand — to stand for what you know is right even in the face of an ignorant mob.  Sometimes enough is enough.

The fear of war is a powerful weapon for controlling the masses — no actual war necessary.  That's literally terrorism.

Even Ron?  ;-)

"[E]very time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all."  That's the key line.  The difference between being dictated to by authorities and choosing one's own way is the issue, not the 'good' intentions.  The means do not justify the end.  The socialists are known for the phrase "by any means necessary."  This is the simple distinction from a republican form of government and an authoritarian government — respect for the rights and freedom of the people themselves.