Fear Or Respect

You've heard that,: "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson.

I've said this before myself. Except, who said that, and how? Because Jefferson didn't say it.

From Montecillo.com

Earliest known appearance in print: 1914.
Earliest known appearance in print, attributed to Thomas Jefferson: 1994.
Other attributions: Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine.

Status: We have not found any evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny," nor any evidence that he wrote its listed variations.

As things have been going lately, with armed citizens protesting in crowds, mobs more like it, I've rethought this consideration, this belief. I'm not talking about 2nd amendment protests, that very well may be different. But all other protests.

Fear and respect are often confused. Fear breeds contempt tas they say. Respect breeds loyalty.

Because what I'm seeing in this, is not people protesting, but bullies invoking fear and building up their own egos.

I always thought it's good for government to fear the people, but when rethinking it now, I see it differently and realize my mistake.

Poor leaders rule by fear. I've been a leader of men myself. I led with respect. Over the many teams I've run, in the military, some later with women in them, I've always had a great deal of loyalty from my teams. To an almost embarrassing degree, at times.

Respect and fear are often misconstrued with fear the easier to implement and for some, to want to utilize. Easy to use, powerful to experience, and thus the attraction. Especially by those with inflated egos. As it is quite clear, with Donald Trump to be honest, and those like him.

Small men use and are attracted to using fear. It's effective, but has its issues. Great leaders instead, use respect. I heard that once as a child and used it to my advantage and that of the teams I led. Which began in Civil Air Patrol in junior high. Even going back to martial arts in grade school

My point in all this? We do not want our government to fear us and we do not want to fear our government. What we need from them is what we do not have, their respect. We appear to be their wallet. When a government fears it's people, bad things happen. When people fear their government, oppression happens.

What we need to have once again is mutual respect for one another. That is not going to happen with this president Trump, now with his GOP, nor the GOP that was there before him.

Protest yes. Invoke fear, no. Make our point, strongly. Threaten, no. Demand, yes. But demands with weaponry, are threats.

It's our choice. Fear? Or, Respect?