American Founding Father, John Adams (1735 – 1826):
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
American politician, Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865):
“From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia…could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.”
English historian, Arnold Toynbee (1889 – 1975):
“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”
French philosopher, Jean-Francois Revel (1924 – 2006):
“Clearly, a civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does will lack the energy and conviction to defend itself.”