One of the most talented yet unknown writers and thinkers of the turn of the 20th century was G.K. Chesterton. Go ahead and check this out for a quick into. Chesterton was a master of brilliant, witty turns of phrase that often contain much truth and are thought provoking. To prove this, I plan to post a few Chesterton quotes from time to time and give my thoughts on them.
"When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws."
Working in state government, I can attest to the truth of this maxim. That the statue books increase in size each year testify to the fact that people fail to follow the law. I would also add that when you see a small law or a small change in the law, it too often creates an additional burden of regulation that is a nuisance for the private sector and creates very little actual value added. When a private sector actor wants that small change, it is usually for the benefit for a particular interest (not necessarily bad and to be expected) and too often for the purpose of using government to obtain a competitive advantage (most certainly bad).
"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."
I will not comment too extensively on this one for reasons of job security other than to comment on the fact that Chesterton, who lived 100 years ago, appears to have his pulse on the current mood of the electorate.
"Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up."
This is a brilliant point. Most rules, standards, or norms of conduct are designed or naturally develop in response to a need in the community. Not only this, but as Chesterton points out in his book Orthodoxy, the rules of God are often placed in order to provide safe parameters within which we may enjoy freedom. When looking at possibly wanting to change a societal norm, it is wise to think of why the norm is in place and think through the negative effects of eliminating it. We do this far too little, often not realizing the harm we do.
"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about."
This quote from Orthodoxy points out the arrogance and lack of respect that comes from not giving consideration to tradition in the church. Chesterton would not say that tradition is sacrosanct--after all they are to have a vote, not be an oligarchy of the dead. However, to not recognize and utilize the wisdom and experience of our forebears is shortsighted, foolish, and arrogant.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these quotes and that they'll motivate you to check G.K. out. He is unlike any author I have ever read, and is not easy to read at all. If you are a Christian, I recommend picking up Orthodoxy. And if I haven't convinced you to check him out, I'll be posting more quotes.
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