Man, when perfected, is the best of all animals; but if he be isolated from law and justice he is the worst of all. Injustice is all the graver when it is armed injustice; and man is furnished from birth with arms (such as, for instance, language) which are intended to serve the purpose of moral prudence and virtue, but which may be used in preference for opposite ends. That is why, if he be without virtue, he is a most unholy and savage being, and worse than all the others in the indulgence of lust and gluttony. - Aristotle Politics 1.1.15
‘Slavery’ and ‘slave’ are terms which are used in two different senses. There is, as we have seen, a kind of slavery which exists by nature; but there is also a kind of slave, and of slavery, which exists only by law or (to speak more exactly) convention.
- Aristotle Politics 1.6.1
Stone upon stone, our supposed betters believe to be building our prison walls.
Stones can be used, however, for many a thing.
Ultimately, I believe it will be their undoing, and those same stones will be the markers for historians to say, “Here lies the American Empire. May she rest in peace, for we will learn from her mistakes and rule more benevolently.”
However, for those that missed it, the Aristotle quote at the end spoke that those that suffered such insults and were unwilling to defend themselves were slavish.
Bound.
Determined to be ruled by others.
I had flagged these charts to use in this post below, but The Tree of Woe’s post puts it much more eloquently than I as to some of the human responses he obtains to confirm these.
However, I think he misses the why.
WHY do they think that they should rule over us?
WHY do they think that they have the right answers?
WHY do they think we need ruling?
Because….
We’ve nearly ASKED them to.
Most of the U.S. has shown them we need it.
And definitely shown them we will meekly take it.
Aristotle argues that anyone that meekly accepts insults and offenses to their way of living is by their nature slavish. This is on top of his arguments that anyone that works for another is a slave, that merchants are little better than slaves as they still have to appease clients, and that only those that make enough products on their own land are truly freemen.
If you think those Ivy League men haven’t read, and agreed with Aristotle (substituting business CEO or millionaire for landowner) you’re a fool.
A SLAVE.
IN YOUR HEART AND SOUL.
Stop it.
Look for the chains.
And see if you can break them.
Because slaves don’t vote their way out of freedom
So, what are you going to do about it?
Because we know what they’ll do.
This is why those who are in a position to escape from being troubled by it delegate the management of slaves to a steward, and spend on politics or philosophy the time they are thus able to save. The art of acquiring slaves for ownership differs both from the art of being a master and from that of being a slave-that is to say, when justly practiced; for in that case it is, in a way, the art of war, or of the art of hunting. - Aristotle Politics 1.7.4