|
2006 July 14
|
"Laws are maintained in credit,
not because they are essentially just,
but because they are laws.
It is the mystical foundation
of their authority;
they have none other." |
"But how shall we educate men to goodness, to a sense of one another, to a love of truth? And more urgently, how shall we do this in a bad time?" |
"This, then, is freedom in the external life of man -- that he is independent of the arbitrary power of his fellows." |
|
2006 July 13
|
"Destiny waits alike for the free man as well as for him enslaved by another's might." |
"It is clear that thought is not free
if the profession of certain opinions
make it impossible to earn a living." |
|
"The disposition of all power is to abuses, nor does it at all mend
the matter that its possessors are a majority. Unrestrained political
authority, though it be confided to masses, cannot be trusted without
positive limitations, men in bodies being but an aggregation of the
passions, weaknesses and interests of men as individuals." |
|
2006 July 12
|
"The mission of the Gestapo expanded steadily as, from 1933 onward,
'political criminality' was given a much broader definition than ever
before and most forms of dissent and criticism were gradually
criminalized. The result was that more 'laws' or lawlike measures were
put on the books than ever." |
"The modern susceptibility to conformity and obedience to authority
indicates that the truth endorsed by authority is likely to be
accepted as such by a majority of the people." |
"This is the gravest danger
that today threatens civilization:
State intervention, the absorption
of all spontaneous social effort by the State;
that is to say, of spontaneous historical action,
which in the long-run sustains, nourishes
and impels human destinies." |
|
2006 July 11
|
"I cannot say that our country could have no secret police without becoming totalitarian, but I can say with great conviction that it cannot become totalitarian without a centralized national police." |
"According to Gestapo records...
they had little need to engage in direct spying on the citizens
since the citizens themselves were more than willing
to do their spying for them." |
"If you ask Americans whether they want an FBI wire tax in their phone bill, they'll say, “No.” If I ask them whether they want a feature on their telephone which allows me to find their child, if they're taken, they'll say, “Yes.” I think it's a question of perception." |
|
2006 July 10
|
"You can't say you love your country and hate your government." |
"The most common characteristic of all police states is intimidation by surveillance. Citizens know they are being watched and overheard. Their mail is being examined. Their homes can be invaded." |
"The history of totalitarian regimes is reflected in the evolution and perfection of the instruments of terror and more especially the police." |
|
|
|
