Tyranny Is A Two Way Street

Tyranny. It holds some weight doesn’t it? There’s a heaviness that enters a conversation when it falls from the lips. It has become commonplace in the vernacular of many as they speak on the current political climate of our time. To others, it is a ghost of the past. There’s no way tyranny, the ugly beast that reared its head almost two hundred and fifty years ago, could return to our soil. There's no way it could infiltrate our society. It’s absurd that anyone could think tyranny exists today in America. I regularly find myself the recipient of eye rolls and scoffs from all sides as I claim tyranny to be alive and well in our beloved country. Many believe power is being abused from all sides, but the second you assign the title of “tyranny” to the matter, denial sets in. There’s no way we’ve come full circle, right? Wrong.

First, tyranny exists in America. Swallow that pill. It’s a big one, but it’s important in diagnosing our national ailment.

Second, tyranny is a two way street. One lane belongs to our elected leaders. The other belongs to us, the people. Tyranny begins with a leader that perceives their power to be farther reaching than what is truly written or granted by local, state, or federal legislation. The current pandemic has been a rampant breeding ground for tyranny at all levels of government. Leaders countrywide have perceived their ability to tell you when you are allowed to leave your home, what you are allowed to do outside of your home, and my personal favorite, what you must do with your face. Many leaders have coupled these demands with threats of misdemeanors and felonies if you do not comply *cough cough* Ralph Northam. Some have even gone as far as telling you what you can and cannot do inside of your own home *big cough* Gavin Newsom. The big question is, why do these “leaders” honestly feel they can make these demands without consequence? The answer lies on the other side of the street.

Tyranny gains traction when we, the people, are complicit in obeying the unconstitutional demands of our elected leaders. As it pertains to the pandemic, government lockdowns and mask mandates have become a widely accepted new way of life because the people, at large, have been complicit in following these orders. This is the case for any abuse of power. So long as we are an agreeable party with the unlawful decrees of our leaders, tyranny will grow stronger. Compliance leads to a vicious cycle of emboldened leaders and greater breaches of national trust.

Many comply because they trust the government to take care of them. They believe the government has their best interest at heart. They feel giving up individual rights is a noble sacrifice for greater security. Just a few weeks ago, House Representative Tom McClintock of California spoke to the meaning of freedom as it pertains to what should be the people’s right to do as they please without government intervention. He said:

Every time we step outside our homes, the risks that we face multiply. A free society assumes that its citizens are competent to assess those risks, balance them against the avoidance costs, and to manage their decisions in a generally responsible way. It’s called COMMON SENSE. And it’s a necessary prerequisite for self-government and liberty.

Let’s assume government mandated security at the cost of individual liberty does make us safer. It doesn’t, but let’s pretend it does for a second. Even so, greater security does not outweigh the human instinct to think and act freely. Greater security is NEVER a price worthy of the sacrifice of your and my right to think for ourselves, speak for ourselves, and act for ourselves so long as we do not hurt others. If our founding fathers desired “security”, they would have stayed in Great Britain. They desired freedom, for it held exponentially more value in the progression of the self and the nation they hoped to lay the foundation for.

Representative McClintock continued:

Only a fool would claim the omniscience to make an informed judgement for every person in every circumstance, in every community. And sadly, [the pandemic] has revealed fools abound in public office, and that a fool with power can quickly become a petty tyrant.

Might I add that only a fool would comply with a fool. Tyranny is a two way street.

Sic Semper Tyrannis, and thus always to fools.