Life Is One Darn Thing

Governments Do Not Make Ideals, But Ideals Make Governments. This Is Both Historically And Logically True. Of Course The Government Can Help To Sustain Ideals And Can Create Institutions Through Which They Can Be The Better Observed, But Their Source By Their Very Nature Is In The People. The People Have To Bear Their Own Responsibilities. There Is No Method By Which That Burden Can Be Shifted To The Government. It Is Not The Enactment, But The Observance Of Laws, That Creates The Character Of A Nation.

The People Cannot Look To Legislation Generally For Success. Industry, Thrift, Character, Are Not Conferred By Act Or Resolve. Government Cannot Relieve From Toil. It Can Provide No Substitute For The Rewards Of Service. It Can, Of Course, Care For The Defective And Recognize Distinguished Merit. The Normal Must Care For Themselves. Self-government Means Self-support.

Mass Demand Has Been Created Almost Entirely Through The Development Of Advertising.

Nations Are Beginning To Look To Some Vague Organization, Some Nebulous Course Of Humanity, To Pay Their Bills And Tell Them What To Do. This Is Not Local Self-government. It Is Not American. It Is Not The Method Which Has Made This Country What It Is. We Can Not Maintain The Western Standard Of Civilization On That Theory. If It Is Supported At All, It Will Have To Be Supported On The Principle Of Individual Responsibility.

If The Government Gets Into Business On Any Large Scale, We Soon Find That The Beneficiaries Attempt To Play A Large Part In The Control. While In Theory It Is To Serve The Public, In Practice It Will Be Very Largely Serving Private Interests. It Comes To Be Regarded As A Species Of Government Favor And Those Who Are The Most Adroit Get The Larger Part Of It.