Democracy, Socialism or Liberty?

I have been reading a sci-fi book written in 1985 that includes a rather interesting section concerning socialized medicine.

Bill had the socialist desease in the worst form; he thinks the world owes him a living. He told me sincerely--smugly!--that of course everyone was entitled to the best possible medical and hospital service--free of course, unlimited of course, and of course the government should pay for it. He couldn't understand the mathematical impossibility of what he was demanding...Bill honestly believes that anything he wants  must be possible...and should be free. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A, Heinlein [Note: I do not recommend this book because the author uses a lot of immorality to describe a future world]

The author continued to discuss this by referring to the poem Road-Song of the Bandar-Log by Rudyard Kipling:

Here we sit in a branchy row,
Thinking of beautiful things we know;
Dreaming of deeds that we mean to do,
All complete, in a minute or two-
Something noble and wise and good,
Done by merely wishing we could.

Too many socialists believe that merely by wishing (passing another law) they can change things to how they believe it should be. Their boldness has only come about through years of changing the hearts of the people to believe that anything they want is something that should be a right and therefore something for which the government should pay.

What did our founding fathers and other great leaders for freedom and liberty have to say about the current greed of Americans that has brought about the loss of liberties?

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” - Benjamin Franklin

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship” - Alexander Tytler 1787

"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money." - Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” - Margaret Thatcher

Ronald Reagan warned that government was not the cure, but that rather it was the problem. He was not the only one who felt this way:

"The Government that governs best ... governs least." - Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Thomas Jefferson

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government--lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." - Patrick Henry

"A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away." - Barry Goldwater

"Man is not free unless government is limited." - Ronald Reagan

Yet we continue to see people who would rather put their trust in the government to care for them. They have chosen to trade their freedom for the security of various free things: health care, food, housing, etc. They do not seem to understand that they are enslaving themselves to the government.

"Anyone who would trade their freedom for safety deserves neither freedom or safety." - Benjamin Franklin

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." - John Adams

So how does our country pay for all of these freebies? Taxes. But taxes have the side effect of creating poverty, rather than creating wealth.

"An economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenue to balance the budget, just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits." - John F. Kennedy

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw 

"Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery." - Calvin Coolidge

Our founding fathers did not want us to have democracy, they wanted us to have freedom and liberty.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill 

And look at what the future holds if we do not stand against the ever increasing freebies offered by our politicians:

"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of 'liberalism,' they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." - Norman Thomas (six time US Socialist Presidential candidate)