Joe Haldeman Quotes

The ruling idea of the politician - stated rather bluntly - is that those who are opposed to him exist for the purpose of being made to serve his ends, if he can get power enough in his hands to force these ends upon them.

Those who exercise power always arrange matters so as to give their tyranny the appearance of justice.

One need only watch totalitarians at work to see that once men gain power over other men’s minds, that power is never used sparingly and wisely, but lavishly and brutally and with unspeakable results.

Military dictatorship is born from the power of the gun, and so it undermines the concept of the rule of law and gives birth to a culture of might, a culture of weapons, violence and intolerance.

Politicians as a class are dangerous, that people who are seeking power over us are not, by definition, our friends.

Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.

How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!

There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power.

A good deal of tyranny goes by the name of protection.

Fear is the foundation of most governments.

In governing the people, the leader empties their minds but fills their stomachs, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones. He always keeps them [the people] innocent of knowledge and free from desire; he sees that the clever never dare to act [against him].

… the tools of despotism and corruption

No truly sophisticated proponent of repression would be stupid enough to shatter the facade of democratic institutions.

You must labor until we have dominion over the minds and bodies of every important person in your nation.

The government assures the people that they are in danger from the invasion of another nation, or from foes in their midst, and that the only way to escape this danger is by the slavish obedience of the people to their government. This fact is seen most prominently during revolutions and dictatorships, but it exists always and everywhere that the power of the government exists.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny

Bureaucracy is ever desirous of spreading its influence and its power. You cannot extend the mastery of the government over the daily working life of a people without at the same time making it the master of the people's souls and thoughts.

The radical Left wants control over the lives of the American people and will sink to any depths to get it.

The passion for power over others can never cease to threaten mankind, and is always sure of finding new and unforseen allies in continuing its martyrology.

A government is the most dangerous threat to man

Force works on servile natures, not the free.

It is the old practice of despots to use a part of the people to keep the rest in order.

Power not only corrupts he who wields the power but those who submit to it. Those who grovel at the feet of power betray their fellows to hide themselves behind the cloak of submission. It is an evil thing.

We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.

To be governed ... is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued, enrolled - by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so.