William Boetcker: No Help through Destruction

The following “Ten Cannots” are often misattributed to Abraham Lincoln.

  • Boetcker You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  • You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  • You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
  • You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  • You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  • You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  • You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
  • You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  • You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
  • And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

William John Henry Boetcker (1873–1962), American religious leader and influential public speaker.  From a pamphlet entitled The Ten Cannots. Originally published in 1916.

Del.icio.us Tags: , ,

The National Debt Road Trip

Debt beyond one’s ability to pay is a mechanism of slavery and oppression, not freedom.  The huge US national debt, particularly that held by foreign powers, represents a surrender of national freedom and sovereignty to those who hold that debt. The rate at which the US national debt is increasing has gone beyond alarming. This little video provides a new way to look at that extraordinary rate of increase.