“The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.”--Thomas Jefferson
Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
What is fascinating about the above quote is that it was written 200 years ago. And, as with so much of what our Founders said, it is just as pertinent today as it was when first penned. Jefferson, in the early limited government days of American history, was as concerned about tyranny then as you and I should be today.
But notice how he accurately notes that this problem has been true “throughout all history.” Tyrants never stop. I recently penned an article for Townhall on how the monsters (totalitarian despots) never quit coming. If we aren’t vigilant (and humans rarely are), then the monsters will eat us. As they are trying to do right now.
Frankly, it’s hard to be vigilant. Most of us don’t want to “rule” other people or order their lives for them. We just want to be left alone, maybe get married, raise a family, have a job, a nice home, a few nice things in life. It isn’t our obsession to control the masses and have people serve and obey us. Every one of us has our own devils (temptations) to fight, but for most of us, stealing people’s money and freedom, and killing them if they don’t do what we tell them to do, isn’t among them. My temptations might be different from yours, but I don’t get my kicks out of oppressing other people. And I doubt you do, either.
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But some people do. In America, they are called “Democrats.”
There exists, and always has, a class of people who DO love bullying others, and if possible, running their lives, stealing their goods, and obliterating them if necessary. History has given us a very good word in our dictionaries to define such people: “government.”
Look again at what Jefferson said:
1. “The issue today is...” 200+ years ago when he wrote. He perceived the same tendency towards tyranny in the early, freest years of America as we see in our own day, and certainly have witnessed in the past 100 years. The totalitarian goblins are always around, ready to fulfill their temptation at the first opportunity.
2. “...the same as it has been throughout all history...” Throughout all history. Jefferson is exactly right. No matter what time period you scrutinize, regardless of what part of the earth you explore, heedless of any race, tribe, culture, or country you observe, there have always been a coterie of humans who want to have power, who lust to control others, who demand obedience from those whom they consider their inferiors, who believe that it is their right to rule. They might say God gave it to them, and if they can’t peacefully convince others of that, they’ll just take it by force. Of course, thugs like Joeseph Stalin and Mao Zedong didn’t believe in God, so they simply grabbed power and killed or tossed into the gulag anybody who even slightly sniffled any opposition. Stalin and Mao weren’t the first—according to Jefferson and history—and they won’t be the last. Indeed, they still exist in our day and age, and if you don’t believe that, go live in China for ten years like I did.
Or observe the last several years of American history.
The Democratic Party in America today doesn’t claim a divine right to rule; they would be laughed out of the country, even by their own sycophantic followers, most of whom don’t believe in a God anyway. So, the Democrats must take the power they crave by more subtle means, force when possible. They’ve gained control of our education system—which might end up being the greatest, single catastrophe in the history of the United States. They’ve trained at least two generations now in their godless propaganda, and we currently see the fruits of it widespread in the country. I don’t have space here to enumerate.
Democrat totalitarians are also attempting to gain the power they lust for by buying votes—that’s a common occurrence among democracies, which, any good historian will tell us, “can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy.” (Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler) Would anyone care to dispute this is happening in America today? Oh, Tytler also concludes that democracy is “always followed by a dictatorship”—totalitarian power. The Deep State is deliberately pushing America down this path.
Furthermore, Democrats—who have absolutely no consciences—are trying to gain power by stealing elections. They are pretty good at it, especially since they’ve trained so many Americans to believe everything they say. So, this has been a successful ploy for them. They have a President now who probably gained office by this method.
In addition, the Democrats are importing as many people as they can, people of limited means and education, whom they will easily be able to control. Just imagine how many more they will illegally allow into the country if Joe Biden/Democrat gets four more years in the White House to blatantly lie about how “secure” America’s borer is.
And, of course, they are using the Justice Department to try to silence and intimidate their opposition as well. They have had some success with this.
The Democrats aren’t even subtle about it any more because they know just how dumb the American people have become. They ought to know. They educated them.
So, indeed, the issue today is “whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.” That is the issue America must solve.
Watch my “When Red Became Green” podcast on my substack mklewis929.substack.com. Must be a paid subscriber, though, to watch/hear my podcasts. But for free subscribers, there’s lots of other good stuff on Leftism, the Founders, etc., along with Biblical studies, so sign up. Follow me on Twitter: @thailandmkl. Read my western novels, Whitewater , River Bend, Return to River Bend, and Allie’s Dilemma all available on Amazon.