The United States was founded in response to tyrannical actions by the government of Great Britain: its increasingly intrusive taxes, mandates and prohibitions.
As students of history, the Founders understood that tyranny — the routine use of government power to violate rather than protect individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — is a constant threat. They counseled eternal vigilance against this threat.
Bad advice, says President Obama.
Obama seems to think (à la certain notions of Rousseau) that tyranny ain’t really tyranny if you participate, however nominally, in the political processes that spawn the tyranny. So he instructs a 2013 graduating class to ignore those who warn that tyranny is “always lurking just around the corner.”
“You should reject these voices … because what they suggest is that our unique and creative and brave experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.”
Come again, Mr. President?
The American republic was built on mistrust. There have to be checks and balances for a republic to work, and skepticism is key to the whole experiment. The “self-rule” idea becomes a sham precisely when we pretend that people with power can always be trusted.
Obama wants the young people he’s addressing to ignore any evidence of present or impending tyranny. Don’t be fooled by people who point to this evidence! Reject these voices! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
That citizens inertly obey such instructions is certainly in the interest of all aspiring tyrants.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
3 replies on “Tyranny? What Tyranny?”
Our self rule is predicated on having a rough framework within which we can engender a LOT of regular turnover, that being the only thing that addresses the inevitable corruption that comes from the lack of consequences that has become built into our system. Originally, the voters got to turn out the damged goods. Now we have a shadow government of organizational structure that got created by appointment that persists even when the politicians mange to NOT get reelected. It is that parallel, shadow government that is repsonsible for most of the violations of our Constitution and infringements on our liberty and freedom. Groups from the IRS to the Department of Education that run their own agendas and appear answerable rarely to anyone.
Was (is) it coincidental that this is printed when we see the IRS trying to stifle dissent? When we see the IRS (in supreme stupdity) “investigating” Jewish and/or Israeli groups or groups friendly to them, because ” there is terrorism in the Middle East” and perhaps a small group that is inovlved in education is somehow terrorist involved? Meanwhile, NOTHING IS BEING DONE BY OUR JUSTICE(?) DEEPT. ABOUT THE HOLY LAND FOUNDATION, and other groups which are known to be invo0lved in, or sponsoring terrorism. (The Holy land Foundation has been on the DOJ Terrorist list for a number of years).
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