Great read but do we still actually live in a representative democracy here in the USA where we have Citizens United and if Our Politicians were like NASCAR cars with advertisers all over the car but instead of Busch Light and Chevrolet their pins would say Raytheon and Lockheed Martin? Has their ever been more of a time of "Taxation without Representation" than now? With our crumbling infrastructure, cities that are riddled with crime waste and abuse. To say nothing about the massive fraud being uncovered every day. Your writings and subjects are, in my opinion, so very relevant in the times we are in. And your articulation is elite, and while i know its my job to do my own intellectual rigorous stress test to the issues as I see them, I'd also be interested to get your direct take on how you see specific real world events or situations and whether or not some of these 1st principles apply. Thanks aa always Dan