The consent of the governed
I used to think I understood this concept:
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed
.
The Declaration of Independence, 1776.
But these days the idea seems to have been turned on its head:
Our Declaration of Independence states that and I quote “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
government
” end of quote, “from the consent of the governed,” excuse me...
John Negroponte, US representative to the UN, addressing the Security Council, 2002.
“[The State] derives its just powers only from the consent of the
government
.”
Paul Wolfowitz, misquoting Thomas Jefferson to a visiting delegation of Iraqi women, 2004.
Wolfowitz closed his speech by inviting the women to thank US soldiers for invading Iraq.
Emphases mine.