Who is the herd? I suggest it is everyone except me. And of course that means you guys are part of the herd. I live in a small southern city. The herd is all those folk whom I don't know that live in places like LA, Chicago right. I have news for you there is no herd, there are only individuals. Zeitgeist thinks I interrupted I guess becaue I thunk as an individual and gave this a thumbs while you guys in the "herd" gave it five stars. Who is the herd now, ha ha ha!

If the 51 does not control the 49 in matters of public policy then it is the 49 that control the 51 and I am sure J you think that is really great. I call that dictatorship.

Why is the herd crushing the single man worse than the single man crushing the herd? I don't get. You would think at least that the number of individuals being crushed would be given some consideration in this simplistic quote. Unless you make the false assumption that the herd is some facelss, souless entitiy rather than a collection of individuals just like the one doing the crushing.

The 51 only have power in issues of public policy. If polcies are not public the majority has no say no matter how great the majority may be. Again Mike if your liberty of the individual does not allow for him to join with others then how free is your individual really. I say he is not free at all but a prisoner and slave of his liberty, if he cannot join with others. Take the blinders off man!

Mike has it all wrong again and as usual. The gentleman did not say "the true will of the PERSON" but "the true will of the PEOPLE" that is pluarl and that is DEMOCRACY or as Mike calls it mob rule. What the quote says is that free individuals can express their views or position and take stands with other free individuals to form a majority or a combined pluarl public will or position. Absolutely five stars but I don't know why any of you guys give it any stars. While I understand you admire the individual part I also understand that you abhor the public will part. You are conflicted you can not admire individual will and abhor the right of individuals to come together, if you deny them that right you are also denyingy them their individual right.

Only with liberty can men agree and disagree. This ability to disagree and agree is what DEMOCRACY is all about. When people mull over public issues and make a public decision via their free will it is a sight to behold. Sadly folk like Mike never will get it. Mike and J's republic is simply a dictatorship in disguise. Liberty and democracy now and forever, for it is just like love and marriage.

The fact is Ken for milleniums "absolute truth" has been modified by relational truth or by what is politcally possible. Galileo's truth was not politcally possible to be advanced during his time. I can agree with some of your so called truths, there are numerous children who wish to live on inheritance rather than making something of themselves, I like to use government to buy and protect land that people would buy for themselves and destroy for all posterity, the robber barons and lone wolves know how to destroy and ruin things just as well as do governments. Now that is the TRUTH.

What does he mean by Free, anyone know?

I prefer to be fed rather than feeding myself. Being fed is in the best tradition of the geisha girl culture, and I love to lay on the couch and have my wife put food into my mouth. Otherwise philosophically I like this quote.

The US Federal Government under and in The Constitution guarantees and requires that each state have a Republican Form of government, (there are no state Kings, dictators or unelected leaders). The Constitution does not state that the Federal Government is or will be a republican form of government. It does state that it will have three branches and details how the offices will be filled, by election etcetera. No where does it say that the Fed will be a Republic.

Elisabeth the fact is we do not know the "truth". We may keep our own opinion even if it is of the minority but since all are free the opinion with the most adherents must prevail until it is changed. I agree it is messy but freedom means truth must often suffer. How else do you explain Galilleo's having to sublimate his truth for years.

We have been wrong about many things at each others expense for a long time J. How else can you explain the almost extinction of every living creature in North America and other environmental degradation. We live, grow, prosper, and suffer together, make mistakes, and correct msitakes etcetera. Since no one, except for Mike on these pages, knows absolute right we suffer through with majority opinion and correct it as we go.

Mike read The Constitution some time. It only guarantees a Republican form of government only to the states. No where does it state that it is establishing a Republic or a republican form of government for the nation headquartered in Washington, DC. The form of government that it estableshed in Washington (first New York, Philadelphia) is not defined by any one word (that people can twist any old which way) but is defined by the The Constituion itself. The states however are stateed to be guaranteed to have a Republican form of government which is to be enforced by power of the Constitution which is embodied in the Central or National government. Correct me if I am wrong Mike, correct me if I am wrong. If it were so easy to establish a Republican form of government and everyone like Mike knows exactly what it is then why it do you think it was necessary to have a Constitution. All the founders would have to say is "We hereby establish a Republican form of government for these thirteen states". It is done in one sentence. How simple does one have to be to think that is the way it is done?

Apparently cal you are missing the point. You are free or you are not, and above you state that you are not by saying "We must free ourselves". Who do you mean by "we"?. Don't you mean "I" must free myself? Those of us who are free voluntarily join in free association to solve our common problems whether it be protecting endangered species, our common health concerns etcetera. Someday I hope that you will become free enough to "join us and the world may live as one" John Lennon. (Those of us who pay for health insurance so that the uninsured can get free health care must freely join together to stop those who think they are free enough to stiff us any time they choose.)

He may have meant attitude. I have read the testimony of a jailed for life man who said that his prison cell was the most beautiful place in the world because it is where he met his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now that is attitude and mental if not physical freedom. Maybe mental freedom is where true happiness lies We all know folk who are physically and material free (wealthy) and maybe politically free but are how is their mood as compared to this guy in prison.

A great deep and profound quote. They who call those of oppoosite opinions tyrannts should take heed. Liberty is the freedom to have opinion and factions and so let us treasure our differences, discuss them and respect and give way, if even for just a little while, to those who have the majority opinion on their side. Due to this action of liberty and faction America as Eisenhower said always gets governed from the center, and fringe parties get incorporated into the mainstream. There will always be the unabsorbed radicals who never accept the reality of centered political life, and they shall be dealt with or otherwiesed ignored.

Here he obviouusly refers to the free election to leadership by free citizens thus a Democracy, Jim K is caught not thinking all over again. He gives it five stars and then bewails the honors the American people have bestowed upon Barach Hussein Obama. You may disagree with his policies but as an American you MUST honor the choice of the American people, even if you think they are wrong. They have a right to be wrong.

Nice to see that the wandering lost in the wilderness Warren is back on the political-philosophy trail.

Lots of good comments especially and unusually from Mr. Archer. What Washington meant by Republican was explained by Lincoln and that is "government of, by, and for the people". Ipso facto a democratic entity,.

Thus Libety and Equality must prevail and let us not forget the ever popular fraternity.

That is why the "free" wild wild west loved it when law came into power and "freed" them from the free wild wild west.

If a people can be tenacious of land (allodial rights as Mike would propose) why should he not be tenacious of air space and sea space, and outer space etcetera, etcetera.? Now my view is that he cannot be absolutely entitled to any property and in fact he is not entitled for perpetuity since he does not live in perpetuity. If individual life is limited then of course individual ownership is limited. Alodial ownership is BS either of land, sea or air.

I did not take a position I posed a question! All the knee jerkers who are set in their ways and non-thinking go ditzzy over someone posing a thought provoking question. Mike who is all for allodial onership of land (which of course does not exist in the United States of America) would seem to also favor allodial rights to water and air or at least to air space and water space. Of couse in the modern world nations due exercise property rights over their air space and of the water space extending out so and so far from their land mass. More after I reread the first two quotes.

Message to RBESRQ: Bureaus and thus bureaucracies were created in this country as a response to the spoils system, a system in which non-professional party hacks ran roughshod over their fiefdom ie the American people. Bureaus were installed to free the system and the people from graft and corruption.

Mike these guys were murderers and weasels. Don't you know that Nazis, Communists, and the Iranian relgious party, and Saddam maintained there power by subjugation, arbitrary trials and summary executions. The Nazis were a tight knit murderous minority. Politics that is not broad based, from the people, is to be suspect. Nazism, communism was top down not bottom up.