Preamble to An Obituary
by John Frost
After nearly one hundred Rotary Reflections, I have allowed my spirits to decline and I blame it on a topic which is forbidden by the parameters for a Reflection. So, this will be in the form of a history lesson. It is taken from the writings of one Alexander Tyler, circa 1887 on the topic of the fall of the Roman Empire and before that the Athenian Empire, over 2,000 years ago.
When I report his writings as a matter of a history lesson, I don’t think I am violating the Reflections Guidelines. Afterwards, you will understand why I am so depressed. Like the pieces of a puzzle, if the odd shaped piece fits, use it.
Alexander Tyler was a notable Scottish History Professor at the University of Edinburgh. As I mentioned above with regard to the fall of Rome and Athens, he wrote: " A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."
