James Bovard Quotes

The first step in saving our liberty is to realize how much we have already lost, how we lost it, and how we will continue to lose it unless fundamental political changes occur.

America needs fewer laws, not more prisons.

As long as enough people can be frightened, then all people can be ruled. That is how it works in a democratic system and mass fear becomes the ticket to destroy rights across the board.

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

It is one of the great tragedies of the US, that most learn most of what they know about the government from the government.

The vision that the founding fathers had of rule of law and equality before the law and no one above the law, that is a very viable vision, but instead of that, we have quasi mob rule.

It has been surprising to me that so few conservatives have voiced concern over the precedence that are being set in favor of suppression by this so-called conservative administration.

How many McDonald's gift certificates would it take to sway a lot of Americans to pledge to never publicly criticize the U.S, President?

The sheer number of government employees and welfare recipients effectively transforms the purpose of government from maintaining order to confiscating as much as possible from vulnerable taxpayers.

This is a case if the President is permitted to be above the law, then we no longer have a republic.

The more people expect from government, the more biased they become against limiting government power.

It is hard to know how many people do, but given that the people are so docile towards the rulers, nowadays, very few Americans show the passion for freedom that our forefathers had.

Part of the reason that the government's fear mongering is succeeding is because so many people are so ignorant, that it is easier for government to frighten people in submission.

There has been so much power concentrated. There is no leash on that power anymore and Americans face the situation that this power is getting momentum with each passing year with each presidency.

There is no virtue in denying the law of gravity, and there should be no virtue in denying the limitations of government. ... The more we glorify government, the more liberties we will lose.

The more that voting is glorified as a panacea, the more lackadaisical people become about preserving their constitutional rights.

If an election is simply a one-day snapshot of transient mass delusions, then this is not a very noble form of government.

Freedom is whatever the president says it is, pending revision.

A democratic government that respects no limits on its power is a ticking time bomb, waiting to destroy the rights it was created to protect.

Well, one of the first things is to restore the rule of law, to place the government back under the cage of law. Another thing is to stop falling for the myth of democracy.

The average American family head will be forced to do twenty years' labor to pay taxes in his or her lifetime.

I was amazed at how easy it was for the Clinton Administration to basically cover what they did at Waco in the fog of lies and avoid any responsibility for it.

Entire generations of Americans have come of age since the ancient time when the president's power was constrained by a duty of candor to the American people.

There is no safe political refuge for those afraid to take responsibility for their own lives.

The Federal Government is exploiting public fear to redefine the relationship between the rulers and the American people.

The more government dependents, the more likely that democracy will become a conspiracy against self-reliance.

Liberty is a political firewall that limits the damage government can do to the individual.

If so many Americans are looking for the government to save them, then it is hard to have a dignified search for a shepherd in chief.

Once a person becomes a government dependent, his moral standing to resist the expansion of government power is fatally compromised.

We are asking the wrong question. The issue is not who should be trusted with all the power of the Presidency. Instead, we must ask how much power any candidate can be trusted with.

For the average person walking down a dark street late at night, a promise from a politician is worth far less than a .38 Special.

Foreign aid breeds kleptocracies, or governments of thieves.

The more powerful government becomes, the more abuses it commits and the more lies it must tell.

Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about the Bill of Rights most of the time.

It is important to recognize and politics positive thinking is often the slaves' virtue - something that people do to con themselves about the burden and change being placed upon them.

Freedom to vote is valuable primarily as a means to safeguard other freedoms.

Not only has the number of government employees multiplied in recent decades, but the rise of government unions further stacks the political odds against private citizens.

American democracy is capsizing as a result of the vast increase in the number of government dependents and government employees.

The more freedoms Americans lose, the more dangerous government becomes.

Rather than a democracy, we increasingly have an elective dictatorship. People are merely permitted to choose who will violate the laws and the Constitution.

Once freedom is equated with a certain material standard of living, confiscation becomes the path to liberation.

Politicians as a class are dangerous, that people who are seeking power over us are not, by definition, our friends.

The people = government doctrine is equivalent to political infantilism -- an agreement to pretend that the citizen's wishes animate each restriction or exaction inflicted upon him.

As we learned from the Clinton administration and much of the media, a machine gun in the hands of a federal agent is now a symbol of benevolence and concern for a child's well-being.

The key question for many voters is: How much is the candidate offering for my vote?

As soon as people drop the reins on government, government will leash the people.

It is absurd to expect governments to descend gradually, step-by-step into barbarism - as if there was a train schedule to political hell and people could get off at any stop along the way.

Dependency is the highest political good - at least for politicians. Since the 1930s, politicians have striven to leave no vote unbought.

Throughout history, politicians have used other people's property to buy themselves power. That is the primary achievement of the welfare state.