Tyranny, the Scourge of Humanity
by John Waddey(117)
firstcenturychristian
In the long history of humanity, most people have lived under tyranny. While there were a few flickers of liberty and freedom prior to our Revolution, ours was the first experiment in liberty to last for an extended period of time. America became the beacon light of freedom for all of humanity. Millions came to our shores to taste the sweetness of liberty and more were inspired to demand and receive liberty in their homelands. But tyranny, like some genetic disease, is never completely defeated. It is always lingering just outside the door ready to move in and reassert itself when weakness allows it to do so.
Such words as "tyrant" are often used without a clear understanding of their meaning. Webster defines the term "1. An absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution: a usurper of sovereignty. 2. A ruler who exercises absolute power oppressively or brutally: One resembling such a tyrant in the harsh use of authority or power." Under "Tyranny" we read, "arbitrary and despotic government; esp.: rigorous, cruel, and oppressive government." Long ago, Euripedes concluded that "Of all the evils that infest a state, a tyrant is the greatest; his sole will commands the laws, and lords it over them."
Tyranny comes in many guises and degrees. There is the harsh tyranny imposed by force by men such as Hitler, Stalin or Saddam Hussein. But there is also a softer tyranny of the cunning, smooth talking ruler. Such a man is able to convince his subjects to voluntarily surrender their rights to him. He and his cohorts charm the people with cliches and slogans that make them think that tyranny is freedom and freedom is slavery. Thus many a tyrant has been swept into office by his adoring followers or voted into office by a charmed citizenry. Knowing this, John Adams wrote, "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right...to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean of the character and conduct of their rulers."
The average American is so removed from political reality that when he hears the word tyranny he thinks only of a Hitler type. John Adams understood that "Absolute power intoxicates alike despots, monarchs, aristocrats, and democrats." A tyrant is a bad man who gains absolute power over a people. No tyrant will admit that he is such. Remember the Communist tyrants of Eastern Europe liked to call their nations "Democratic Republics." When the will of man is raised above law it is always tyranny and despotism, whether it is the will of a bashaw (a Turkish pasha) or of bastard patriots" (Noah Webster).
In a democratic society, a tyrant can arise only if the following conditions develop.
A. A gullible public that is so wrapped up in its own pleasures and self-interests that it allows tyranny to take root and flourish without realizing or caring about the seriousness of the situation.
George Washington wisely observed that "...arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness."
B. A weak and compliant governing body whose members bow before the tyrant and grant his every wish.
C. A corrupt media that falls under the influence of the tyrant and become an echo of his wishes.
D. An educational system that fails to instill the love of country and the principles of freedom, liberty and democracy in its students. That allows them to pass through its system without learning the great lessons of their nation's past and the sacrifice others made so they could be free. This conditions the child so that in adulthood, he is fully compliant to the powerful ruler.
The tyrant and those who are his minions purposefully develop a cult-like adoration of the leader. In time he becomes almost like a Moses or Jesus figure to them. The people are led to believe that the tyrant is not their enemy, but the source of all their blessings. That he is above the common course of humanity. We see this aspect of tyranny in Kim Jong Il, the Communist tyrant of North Korea. "Tyrants forgo all respect for humanity in proportion as they are sunk beneath it. Taught to believe themselves of a different species, they really become so, ... and in mimicking the gods dwindle into the brute" (Hazlitt).
Soft tyrants are not born in a day. They evolve slowly over a lengthy period of time. The shift from freedom to tyranny is often purposely slow, lest the citizens realize what is happening to them and rebel.
It is interesting that many admiring citizens cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the reality of their tyrant, even as they bow in submission, they congratulate themselves on the freedom and blessings their tyrant has brought them. This was seen in Russia and Cuba.
In most cases there will be something to trigger the final assumption of total power. It might be some economic, natural or military crisis that provides the excuse for the final take over. In the name of public safety, tyrants disarm their constituents, making sure that no armed resistance can occur. Thus the shackles of bondage can be riveted into place without meaningful protest.
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide" (John Adams, Letter to John Taylor).
John Waddey
12630 W. Foxfire Dr.
Sun City West, AZ 85375
Ph. 623-214-3715
Article submitted Saturday, October 31, 2009 & read 689 times.
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