Times of War

"Of all the enemies of true liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be
dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.

"War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and
armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many
under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the
executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors and
emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds are added
to those of subduing the force, of the people. ... No nation can preserve
its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."

"War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement. In war, a
physical force is to be created; and it is the executive will which is to
direct it. In war, the public treasuries are to be unlocked; and it is the
executive hand which is to dispense them. In war, the honors and emoluments
of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under
which they are to be enjoyed; and it is the executive brow they are to
encircle. The strongest passions and most dangerous weaknesses of the human
breast, ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venal love of fame, are
all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace."

--James Madison

We have been in a perpetual state of war since the Cold War began: The Cold
War, the War on Drugs, and now the War on Terrorism.

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