I saw that this quote is being sent around the Internet lately due to current situation in Egypt.
"There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state; the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people." - Admiral Adama
The point here is not that the military is bad, but more that the military and the police have two very different missions. Each does their job well in their own theater of operations. In a perfect world, the two forces should remain in the area that they are trained for, doing the jobs they are good at.
This led me to look for some other possibly appropriate quotes...
"It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own." - Herbert Hoover
This is why it is important to fight things like the government having a big red button for killing things like the Internet at their whim. Also, whether or not you approve of information outlets such as Fox News or talk radio, you should never support the governments attempt to shut these down. If successful, they will not stop there, and eventually the information you receive will be filtered, censored, and limited to only what they want you to receive.
"No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand." - Michael Straczynski
People do not take kindly to being imprisoned, and especially in their own country. We have seen it time and again, once people taste freedom, they don't put up with being suppressed.
"The power which establishes a state is violence; the power which maintains it is violence; the power which eventually overthrows it is violence." - Kenneth Kaunda
I had never really thought about government and the rule of people in this way before, but it's definitely a truism. In a manner of speaking, the ability to keep and maintain a peaceful society must include the ability to meet violence with violence. It's a sad reality that some people refuse to believe, but without the ability to defend ourselves we will inevitably become enslaved. Power and violence are required, it's how these things are utilized that separates the tyrants from leaders.
"Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave." Henry Peter Brougham
The more oppressed people learn of the world outside their borders, of places where people are free to live without abuse, pain and suffering, the more they want to have that freedom for themselves. The ignorant and uneducated tend to believe only the crap that they are fed by their keepers. Without starting a political battle here, I will only say that you should not base your opinions on what other people tell you. Research things for yourself. Especially those things that guide your life such as religion and politics. Don't just follow blindly, follow because you know it is the right thing to do. Self-imposed ignorance will imprison you in your own virtual darkness.
And to the people rising up in Egypt I can only offer this advice...
"Be careful what you wish for." - Unknown
I'll be the first to admit I do not know near enough about this latest issue to offer any real commentary. These quotes just seemed like they might hit home with what is going on. I'm sure in the days that follow I will become more up to speed with the historical situation. Until then, feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts.
