We can’t turn on the news without hearing that Democracy is under attack. This might be true in a sense, but not because of the actions of political players. The low voter turnout of all political parties may be an indication of the historical cycle of democracy and where the United States of America may be in.
In 1787, Scottish history professor Alexander Tyler completed a great study of the fall of the Athenian Republic. His conclusions were:
- A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
- Democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.
- From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
- The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years.
- During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back to bondage.
Assuming Alexander Tyler’s conclusions are true, the reluctance of many to engage in the political process indicated to me that we are somewhere in the apathy to dependence stage. The question is, are we doomed to slip from apathy to dependence and then into bondage? There are other indicators that may prove the opposite.
Let’s take the economic upsurge. Job growth continues, investment in America is growing and the stock market is doing well. I see the pioneer spirit of America overtaking the apathy of low voter participation. These positive signs might just pull us from apathy back to abundance.
America is still the land of opportunity. Our Constitution still protects our unalienable rights and the quest for liberty remains strong in the American spirit
As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, let us remember these enduring words from the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These principles have guided America through periods of prosperity and hardship, unity and division. While history offers lessons and warnings, it does not dictate our future. The strength of our republic ultimately depends on the character, engagement, and determination of its citizens. Rather than surrendering to apathy or dependence, we can choose participation, responsibility, and renewed commitment to the ideals that have sustained our nation for 250 years. America’s future remains unwritten, and each generation has the opportunity—and the obligation—to help shape it.
