October 27, 1964 - 55 years ago. Before political office, actor Ronald Reagan, 30 minute speech "A Time for Choosing".[1]
"Someplace a perversion has taken place. Our [individual] natural unalienable rights are now presumed to be a dispensation of government, divisible by a vote of the majority. The greatest good for the greatest number is a high-sounding phrase but contrary to the very basis of our nation, unless it is accompanied by recognition that we have certain rights which cannot be infringed upon,
even if the individual stands outvoted by all of his fellow citizens. Without this recognition, majority rule is nothing more than mob rule.
It is time we realized that socialism can come without overt seizure of [private] property or nationalization of private business. It matters little that you hold the title to your property or business if government can dictate policy and procedure and holds life and death power over your business." Page 780, 25.
http://cdn.constitutionreader.com/files/pdf/constitution/ch123.pdf
[1] "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to
a time for choosing ... You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream—the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order - or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism." Page 774, 24.
"But any time we question the schemes of the do-gooders, we are denounced as being opposed to their humanitarian goal. It seems impossible to legitimately debate their solutions with the assumption that all of us share the desire to help those less fortunate. They tell us we are always against, never for anything.
Well, it isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so much that isn’t so." Page 777, 15.
The full text of that address is as relevant today as it was in 1964.
A Time for Choosing - Wikipedia
When questioned
"A Time for Choosing" by Ronald Reagan - YouTube
Unalienable rights
"A Time for Choosing" by Ronald Reagan - YouTube