I'm generally not a big fan of Rousseau, but sometimes he does nail it. This observation strikes this particular Usian who, whatever the outcome of this general election, knows it won't bring an end to our national state of anxiety:
Citizens only allow themselves to be oppressed to the degree that they are carried away by blind ambition. Since they pay more attention to what is below them than to what is above, domination becomes dearer to them than independence, and they consent to wear chains so that they may in turn give them to others. It is very difficult to reduce to obedience anyone who does not seek to command.--Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men
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