Two Hundred Years And Falling Poem by Cynthia Buhain-baello

'A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves excessive gratuities from the public treasury.
From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the treasury, with the result that a democracy collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.'

(Professor Alexander Tyler
The Fall of the Athenian Republic)






The world's greatest civilizations
On average lasted two hundred years.
The Assyrians, Greeks and Babylonians,
Destroyed and fallen, have disappeared.

And even that great Roman Empire,
That mighty conqueror of the West
Fell from its grandeur, state so dire-
Only its ruin can to its name attest.

Consider this then, the time of the States
It is now more than two hundred years
The signs of falling no one negates,
History repeated, that is what we fear.

From bondage to faith of Puritans,
From faith to courage of the pilgrims,
To strength, liberty and abundance,
To leisure, to apathy, and weakness grim.

The final stage is dependency,
That is where the nation is right now.
Repeating the cycle from history,
Tall Uncle Sam is now ready to bow.

The rising again is an urgency
There is need to rebuild the foundations
Strong faith in God and integrity,
Discipline, work, and determination.

Sown in the hearts, nurtured in homes,
For these building blocks are eternal
Inward change and determined reform,
Firm and honest spiritual revival.










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Written March 29,2009
Philippines