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Health & Fitness

Culture of Tyranny

We must all speak out against tyranny.

What has interested me most about the “Unfortunate Events” or UE’s swirling around President Obama these days - Bengazzi, the IRS and AP - is what it says about the culture of tyranny that is being encouraged by our president.

 Tyranny is a strong word, and in this context may repulse some and make others pull the covers over their heads. But this nation of free individuals has known tyranny before. “Tyranny” is a word that popped up in our public discussion of the Second Amendment: the amendment was a reaction to the British “tyranny” over “these states” which were outlined in the Declaration of Independence. 

 Tyranny’s dictionary definition includes: “arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power”. Can anyone realistically or honestly deny that this doesn’t accurately describe the UE’s (I call them this because they apparently haven’t reached the threshold of being called “scandals” - a term mostly reserved in this country for sexploits like Bill Clinton’s)?

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 President Obama and his handlers have been setting up a defensive parameter around him, claiming that he had no idea of what was happening. This “know nothing” defense belies the bigger problem: even assuming that he knew nothing of these tyrannical practices, the members of his government apparently believe that the actions they have taken would be acceptable means to end in the President’s eyes - all his protestations aside. Obama, as any leader would be, is culpable for the culture he creates and tolerates.

 When I ran for Illinois state representative last year, I spoke about the Culture of Corruption that has swallowed Illinois and rendered it financially disfunctional and unsustainable. At the federal level, we have a Culture of Tyranny that just as surely will devour our rights and lead us into an abyss so dark and bleak that we don’t believe those prophets who try to warn us.

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Speaking out against tyranny is at the foundation of our nation. Thomas Jefferson said: "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent". Do not be silent at this critical moment: speak out against tyranny. Do not let it get a bigger foothold than it already has.

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