“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
— Attributed to 18th-century Scottish political philosopher Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee
We are officially in the 2026 midterm election cycle. Early voting began here in Texas this week. My wife, Angela, and I voted on Monday. I just want to remind you of the words from Greek philosopher Plato: “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you shall be governed by your inferiors.” I would actually change that to say, “You will be ruled by your inferiors.” Alexander Fraser Tytler gave us a very disturbing cycle when it comes to the existence of representative democracies, of which America is the longest continuously running. If you take his words to heart, we are 50 years past our life cycle, and the cracks in the foundation are showing.
If America, as we vote in this midterm election, wants a window into where we could be headed, just look at the streets of France. One could potentially say that the Marxist/Islamist violence in France, and disregard the insidious leftist media characterizations, is the unforeseen “October surprise” of this cycle. America is facing the advance of Marxism/Islamism here on our shores. This election cycle is a critical decision point for the future of our nation.
Fraser Tytler aptly predicted the basis of socialism: “candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury.” And honestly, President Trump has taken a bite from this poisonous fruit. We are descending into a perilous abyss where we have a race to give stuff, instead of setting the conditions by way of policies, principles, values and adherence to our Constitution for the economic success and prosperity of the American people.
When you read Fraser Tytler’s cycle, you have to ask yourself a very appropriate question: where is America in this cycle? First of all, think about what is the founding principle that brings nations out of bondage: spiritual faith. If you think about all the great theologians and spiritual thinkers who emerged from Western Europe, you can see how they contributed to enlightenment and individual freedom. Consider the influential British pastor George Whitefield, who was instrumental in the First Great Awakening here in America, which led to our quest for independence. It is that spiritual faith that leads to courage and that lends its way to liberty. As it says in 2 Corinthians 3:17 (New American Standard Bible), “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
However, as we enjoy the benefits of liberty, we begin a descent, and this is a cycle that we must break. In Western Europe, when the void of spiritual faith opened wider, it was filled with something. This tendency is a basic law of physics. That something has been, and is, Marxism/Islamism. When it becomes coupled with complacency, then apathy, we trek back towards bondage. And it is a proven fact that Marxism/Islamism rejects individual liberty, rights, and freedoms and replaces them with collective subjugation and subservience. And those ideals, ideology, and agenda are advanced preeminently by way of violence.
This midterm election cycle is less about Republicans and Democrats. It is about the very essence of our Republic, its foundational principles and values. It is about whether or not we can break the perilous cycle. That goal can only be done if Americans get out to vote, especially the three demographics that have a bad track record of voter participation: Christians, veterans, and gun owners/hunters. Are the gas prices and food commodity prices high? Yep. But relative to the previous leftist Biden administration, no. But all it takes is for one to gaze across the Atlantic Ocean and gain a vision into what could be the future of our Republic. That is not fearmongering or hyperbolic, and what the leftists in America do not want is for YOU to have a strategic vision. They want you to only have short-term sight, as they deem the moment is now to capitalize and have you surrender your liberty to them, as they promise that which they always do but never deliver.
Vladimir Lenin succinctly stated, “The goal of socialism is communism.”
Get out, vote, vote to break the cycle that Alexander Fraser Tytler articulated over 200 years ago. Break the cycle in order to safeguard America 300. Break the cycle to ensure that the beacon of liberty and freedom that is America perseveres for our subsequent generations. Free does not equal freedom, and real Americans take pride in our freedom. Once upon a time, so did the French, Brits, and other Western European nations.
But remember, it all begins with spiritual faith. That is the wellspring of courage, which is the impetus behind liberty.
Steadfast and Loyal.
This column was published at the American Constitutional Rights Union
The views expressed in CCNS member articles are not necessarily the views or positions of the entire CCNS. They are the views of the authors, who are members of the CCNS.
