Thoughtless people today are very proud of what they consider our very modern conditions, and claim that we are very different from our ancestors. Yet in truth, there has been no change in the real fundamentals of life since most ancient times. As one philosopher said, “The more It changes, the more it is the same.” Are you really any better off because, today, the bandit who robs you uses a gun instead of a sword, as he would have done 1.000 years ago? Is It better to have to leap for your life out of the path of an automobile, instead of a chariot? Have we really progressed because you are now made to pay excessive taxes with dollars instead of shekels? Are China’s slaves better off than the captives of Babylon? Nothing but surface appearances have changed; the essential realities must remain the same as long as there are men living on earth.
One of the ancient institutions which has come down to us unchanged is the stream of vilification and abuse directed at everyone who protests against current evils and seeks to warn the public of the consequences of continued wrongdoing. Our evils are always organized, because there are always those who have found out how to get money or power —or both—out of them. They foresee the end of their wealth and power if the public ever learns the truth; therefore they viciously attack everyone who tries to warp the public of what is going on. Of course, this is not surprising, what is amazing is the degree to which the public generally loves only its real enemies and hates its true friends.