Edmund Burke Quote - Liberty Quotes Blog

"Those who have been intoxicated with power... can�never willingly abandon it."

by:	Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Irish-born British statesman, parliamentary orator, and political thinker
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Categories:	Corruption, Power
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Reader comments about this quote:

We hold this truth to be self evident (from city to fed) I'm with throwing the power mongering trash out in November. Can anyone find some one that understands the Law of Nature and of Nature's God, the Constitution as was originally given, justice, unalienable rights and will work to throw off the intoxicated power mongers of the statist theocracy. We need to replace the benevolent masters (tongue in cheek -completely intoxicated thanks to the tyrannical and unconstitutional statist theocracy's usurped power), with a constitutional limiting representative republic with lawful servants that will represent the individual sovereigns of We The People. -- Mike, Norwalk 2
Couldn't have said it BETTER myself, Mike. Government needs to butt out of WE, the People's lives and mind THEIR own biz-ness. No one has the right to tell you what you can and cannot do (within the law) what you can or cannot eat, what dosage of any supplement YOU choose to take to better your health. Can't WAIT till November!!! I have a bumper sticker on my rear window that says: Obama: The Quicker-Fucker-Upper I get a lot of thumbs up!! :-) -- L.P, Kirkland, WA 1
-- Anonymous
Have we ever seen a government repeal an unjust law when it gave them more power? Never, and that's why we still have the Patriot Act...a completely dictatorial "police state" law. -- J Carlton, Calgary 1
This is why people like the Grand Kleagle Robert Byrd stay in the Senate for 50 years. They can't give up the power. -- jim k, Austin,Tx 1
That, this is a self-evident maxim. Demonstrated by how much money is spent, to achieve a public service job that pays comparatively little. The willingness of these to sell their souls ...... bemuses me? Along with power, is wealth and the notion that; it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Than it is for a rich man to enter heaven, That for myself? heaven is here right now, to be experienced by these bodies, before tipping over into the void. To be then judged whether I may start it again? Hopefully, I will remount the karmic wheel for the better? ....... yay! ;-] -- Jamie, Nelson 1
There has never been a more powerful president than Lyndon Johnson. "Drunk with Power" they called him and we still live with all the damage he did. We still have this abuse of power in Washington. -- cal, lewisville, tx 1
Edmund Burke is a brilliant man. It's a pity there aren't more like him around. -- Johann Hollar, Saint Paul, MN
And we see the drunkards clamoring for more power every election cycle. The foxes are running the hen house, and there ain't a lot the chickens can do about it. I wish we could just vote out people this November and leave the seats vacant for a while. But like the hydra, you cut off one head and two more grow in its place. -- E Archer, NYC 1
The French had a good answer for this... -- Anonymous
The above comments certainly have a certain tone or bias. For counter intuitive analysis have any of y'all considered the fact that starting with Washington we have a 223 year history of Presidents, Senators, Congressmen giving up power whenever they are defeated at the polls. Some wanted Washington to be proclaimed King but he would have none of that nonsense. That standing in front of a crowd, wooing people and being admired can be intoxicating I will not deny. But we have laws and we have honest elections, and we throw the bums out at will. This November we will wait to see on whom the judgement of "bum" falls. -- Waffler, Smith
The longer they are there, the more corrupted they become. Elections are supposed to fix that. Waffler thinks we have honest elections. NOT!!! The caucuses are seriously dishonest. Google the following: wewillnotbesilenced2008 or enter it in the subject line on You Tube. I guarantee it will open your eyes. And that is only one state. That, plus the questionable contributions rampant in the last election cycle indicate anything but an honest election. -- Carol, Georgia 1
Without having heard those words, or heard of Burke, I have often stated: "Those minds which accept or adopt any power, cannot willingly surrender any portion of it." I then asked and answered all the questions to learn the knowledge of how to promptly destroy power within any mind (defeating its results), regardless of any opposition. Now, share my laughter. The perception of any institutional (group) association power, effects the result of power within a mind. So when I routinely offer peace and human rights organization leaders the knowledge of how to promptly achieve their goals, they react identically to their opposition, fearing anything that threatens their organizational power. Those words hold their meaning. I have equally offered the entire spectrum of power-cravers the process to promptly manifest their goals, verifiable against all questions anyone can ask. Identical non-responses. Power fears knowledge more than death, because knowledge is the death of power, and power is obviously more than a human death. Enjoy the show. Respectfully, DougBuchanan.com -- DougBuchanan.com, Fairbanks, Alaska
Only through humility can one be brought to the door of repentance and acknowledgement. Once humbled then they are removed. Actions speak louder than words. -- Ron, Salem
I think that statement is a indictment of the human race. We are all weak of flesh. It would seem that the resistence to temptations is something human beings are not very good at. It takes a person of exceptional inner strength and moral fiber to walk away from the hypnotic pull of absolute power. George Bush I and II are two good examples of those who have simply walked away and blended into the rest of the human race and are doing fine. Carter and Clinton, on the other hand, cannot seem to take their bow and walk off the stage. Career politcians should be a thing of the past because it is these people who exemplify those who feed off the power they have and would simply shrivel up and die if they lost it. -- GunnyCee, Durham 1
Take god, greed, and intolerance out of the aquasion, back to a truely secular state, and things will immediatel improve both morally and economically. -- Anonymous
Moral responsibility, the greatest force, never needs abandonment. -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown

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