It is easier and much more comforting to believe that the government is a great big Santa Claus who bestows presents without cost. We have hugged that doltish notion until it has ceased to be even a phantom of hope and a blind man can see that it is bringing our country to the brink of ruin. The breaking down of state, local and individual responsibility that has kept pace steadily with the centralization of power in the federal government is the most lamentable sign pointing to the decadence of our Republic. Because it is both direct and enduring. Spoken words, whether recorded at long distance or whispered across the inches of a pillow, may have greater impact, but they evaporate almost immediately, like splashes of alcohol leaving little memory.
Printed words mean more the more they are read, and time only increases their first force.
Only a favored, scholarly few could normally ever hope to hold an Adam Smith, a John Locke, or The Federalist Papers, original in their hands, yet anyone with rudimentary ability to read can buy a reprinted and edited copy of, say, Milton s Areopagitica . The problem is that many have been edited with spin or corrected by agenda. It s that handful, hammered by wars and devastation, disease and slaughter which witnessed the near obliteration of a once proud people. Many were confused, disorganized, bitter about their God, and despairing not only of their existence, but robbed of any reason to continue. In that dark period, looking back on their former greatness was an exercise in consolation.