Dear Editor:

There is an old saying, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

In my opinion our country is following the path to selfdestruction.

There is a comment attributed to several different scholars over the past 200 years that is pertinent to our present status. “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself a largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits, with the result that the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy existing, always to be followed by dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

As frightening as this sounds it would seem that our present system is doomed to failure. We have not learned from history. In a speech given in 1943 by the president of the Armstrong Cork Company the following cycle was offered. “From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back to bondage once more.”

The direction our current leaders are following has been tried by the Chinese some three millenniums ago, by the Romans, the Germans, Italians, and Russian governments; and they all failed. Their leaders all asserted that government can successfully plan and control major business activity and not interfere with political freedom or civil and religious liberties. History points out that exactly the reverse happened.

When will the American voting public wake up or are we destined for doom by not learning from the past?
Sincerely,
Joan S. Wheeler
Gaffney, S.C.