Patterns

My friend Leif, over at Pattern Research wrote this:

Curiosity, wonder, intelligence, integrity, humor, compassion, and energy are adequate substitutes for government. But when a culture lacks a population rich with expression of these virtues there seems to be no course but to expand the powers of the state. So it is when a body becomes ill and nothing is known of healing nutrients: The solution seems to be drugs that produce illusory healing while advancing degeneration.

which he says was inspired by something I said many years ago: "Taxes are the price we pay for an uncivilized society."