“Republics, like individuals, who are benefited by personal sacrifices, are proverbially ungrateful.”

I think more often than not. By way of example: "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." (Declaration of Independence) So many vain claim gratitude for that which went on before while willingly prostrating themselves before a statist theocracy, demanding a government of men, scoffing at the government of law given at such great personal sacrifice.

And Republics degenerate into democracies which commit suicide when people find out they can vote themselves goodies from the government trough.

Those that have sacrificed for the liberty of others are indeed heroes. They did not sacrifice themselves for us to be in their debt. A grateful child is a blessing, but should a parent constantly remind their child that they owe everything to their parents? To help break the chains that bind another is a blessed gift, but it is still necessary for the freed prisoner to avoid the traps that imprisoned him in the first place.

...as we witness daily....

Governments of any type have their bureaucracies which are perpetually ungrateful. That is the nature of bureaucrats with their petty fiefdoms.

Ingratitude comes from the feeling true or not, possibly prideful that "I can do this all by myself" I don't need any help from an attitude of entilement, "So what if he or she helped me, they have got more than enough to help me anyway." The sad ones are the ingrates who can do it but don't. Those who do do for themselves are the ones who are grateful for what others and government can also do. I am grateful for the public works of my community, state and nation and for all that this "STATIST THEOCRACY" hath provided, including are excellent military. I am saddest about the ungrateful tax cheat freeloaders. I will give it thumbs down becauase not all people are ungrateful for the personal sacrifices others.

You just don't get it Waffle iron. The signers of the declaration of independence had a lot of wealth besides their lives to lose.