Descent Towards Tyranny

Thomas Jefferson once said:

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

America was founded directly as a result of rebellion against tyranny, with the goal of being a haven of liberty and justice, with all unreasonable use of power kept in check by a government with many checks and balances. Unfortunely, having begun a descent towards tyranny in 1861 by restraining personal and collective freedoms of the people, we have been heading rapidly towards a deeper and darker tyranny. This year is one in which America is hastening her demise by picking up the speed at which individuals liberties and unalienable rights are being trampled.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines tyranny as: "oppressive power exerted by the government." Though some people are quite happy with all the new changes that Obama is enacting, I am quite appalled and concerned about most of them. Since Obama has come into power, we have seen a lot of new laws, expenses and programs in the works:

Just yesterday morning, Obama signed an anti-smoking law. This bill creates a Center for Tobacco Products which will regulate the tobacco industry and restrict what sorts of product they are allowed to create and market. Additionally, they are requiring even more warning labels and graphics to be printed on cigarette cartons. Obviously, the only reason people smoke is because they can't read the already obstrusive Surgeon General's warning on the package. People choosing to smoke must be a case of insufficient warnings!

Last month a credit card reform bill was passed, which certainly has some good components, but definitely limits young the freedoms of persons under 21. Though I understand that such a restriction is done with the best of intentions, it unreasonably takes away freedom from young people and makes it much more difficult to establish good credit. I got my first credit card when I was 18, and by using it responsibly I now have a large credit limit and an excellent credit score, which have served me well in making large purchases and would put me in a great position if I were to need a business or home loan. With the new regulations in place, my younger siblings will have a much harder time establishing good credit. The best way to encourage responsibility is to allow people to face the consequences of their decisions; preventing them from making autonomous decisions is counterproductive and slows the maturing process. People can vote, join the army or be drafted into the military at 18, but they can't be allowed to manage their own borrowing practices? Absurd!

Another bill that is currently working it's way through the Senate seriously threatens free speech and religious expression. The Matthew Shepard Act is an extension of hate crimes law, which will broaden the classification of hate crimes to include protection not only based on race, color, religion, or national origin but also protection based on sexual characteristics, such as a homosexual sexual orientation, or even for any of the clinical forms of sexual deviancy (which include nearly every sort of perversion you can imagine, and probably quite a few that you can't). Though the bill allegedly won't threaten free speech, if any language or religious preaching can be considered influential in motivating any sort of violence towards a protected individual, it could result in a trial for hate speech.

Yet, those new and pending laws are the least of our worries! The massive economic bailout has been expending vast amounts of money. Obama is only responsible for about $787 billion dollars of it. Only $787 billion dollars! To give you idea of how much money that is, with $787 billion dollar you could buy 2.6 million average-priced houses in the US. Or, you could buy 39.3 million brand-new 2010 Toyota Camrys. Alternately, you could pay an average salary to 12.9 million people for an entire year. That is a lot of money! And where is this money coming from? The federal government gets nearly all of its money through federal income taxes. All the money that government is spending has either been taken out of your paychecks already or will be taken very soon. Given that the federal debt is rapidly increasing, and that during the past 7 years we have had major deficit spending, the amount of money that each person will be required to surrender to the federal government is becoming astronomcially large!



If our expenses for the economic bailout isn't bad enough, there is significant talk about creating a public health-care system and requiring all Americans to have health insurance. Not only will this be a major blow to the freedom of Americans (since health insurance will no longer be optional), but it will also undoubtedly result in major government expenditures in addition all the money we are already haphazardly throwing to the wind. According to US News:

Yet neither bill addresses outright how to pay for reform.These omissions are not oversights; they are political calculations. The cost of healthcare reform could top $1 trillion over the next decade, and the proposals for raising that money, which include everything from eliminating tax breaks for employers to putting new taxes on drinks that contain high-fructose corn syrup, are contentious and risk alienating lawmakers.

In short, in year 2009, our freedoms are consistently being eroded, more of each person's money is being spent without permission or approval, and the government is seeking to mandate more "right choices" rather than allowing individuals to make their own choices and choose their own path in life. The "will of the people," as interpretted by the federal government, is exerting more tryannical force over individuals and asserting its dominance and control over each and every citizen of America by systematically stripping them of their rights to keep what is theirs, spend their money as they see fit, speak out against evil and enjoy private vices. If time permitted, I would mention the government trying to enforce its brand of morality by attacking the "conscience clause" and mention how religious and family rights are being trampled on by the supreme court. All of these new laws and programs in the works are just a taste of what is to come. The tyranny of the federal government is rapidly expanding and Obama is dedicated to taking even more control for the government. These are increasingly bad times for average American citizens!