That's interesting...

I periodically think about some of the ways our culture has changed in just my lifespan, and I am forced to wonder how we can even attempt to guess what we will be doing in ten or twenty years. Other times I come across something like this, and I realize the truth of the old saw "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Looking at this quote, it could easily be in response to any of a number of legislations in the last year, could it not?

As for the second notion, the idea that we could lose our freedom by succumbing to a wave of religious hysteria, I am sorry to say that I consider it possible. I hope that it is not probable. But there is a latent deep strain of religious fanaticism in this, our culture; it is rooted in out history and it has broken out many times in the past. It is with us now; there has been a sharp rise in evangelical sects in this country in recent years, some of which hold beliefs theocratic in the extreme, anti-intellectual, anti-scientific, and anti-libertarian.

It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate it's creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics. This is equally true whether the faith is communism or Holy-Rollerism; indeed it is the bounden duty of the faithful to do so. The custodians of the True Faith cannot logically admit tolerance of heresy to be a virtue.

( Can you guess who said it and when? )

Sure this isn't like a quote from the founding fathers or anything, but it is nice to remember that there are enough rational people in our country that they have been trying the same thing over and over for this long and still haven't managed it. We do seem to be closer than when this was written, but if I remember my history there were other times we were closer too. If we just don't give up, we can make it through this.