Robert Heinlein was a prominent writer of science fiction during the 20th century. He was a free thinker whose political views were prominent in many of his writings. He is hard to categorize politically, as he had views that would alternatively appeal to and appall those on the left and the right. That being said, one of his notable quotes bears repeating in this highly charged political climate. These words were written in the middle part of the last century, unfortunately they are even more relevant today. We can only hope, pray and vote that they do not become a prophecy fully realized:
"The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories. A perfect democracy, a "warm body" democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has not internal feedback for self-correction... Once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to the invader -- the barbarians enter Rome."
From To Sail Beyond the Sunset, by Robert A. Heinlein
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