Resist Tyranny: The Power of Your Voice

More than 200 years ago, our forefathers put quill to parchment to rid ourselves of a tyrant king, George III, touching off the Revolutionary War that formalized the break from England. America fought two World Wars (and numerous smaller actions) against tyranny and despotism. America has a long history fighting tyranny. 

Tyranny, defined as the cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control, isn’t limited to autocrats and authoritarian governments:

• Parents can be narcissistic and controlling
• Coaches have traditionally employed harsh methods of training their teams
• Employers can mistreat employees, often with impunity except in cases of protected discrimination
• Religious leaders, have used their positions to persecute non- or “different”-believers

Tyranny of government and mob-mentality

In fact, anyone who wields some measure of authority can become tyrannical. At the Armored Republic, the two entities we have in view most often are the state and the mob. 

Both have the ability to trample a person’s rights through the threat or actual use of force, with the state having the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force. When the state uses that monopoly in a just manner, people’s rights are generally protected. When it doesn’t, rights are violated, sometimes to deadly ends.

Mob rule, on the other hand, is unjust, evil, and tyrannical. Earlier this year, we had a series of articles on our duty to resist evil by not only identifying it, but also resisting it via questions, truth, and the just use of force if necessary.

Tyranny is no different...it must be identified, exposed, and resisted at every turn by either speaking out against it, tactically retreating from it or, failing all else, defending against it.

Resist tyranny by speaking truth

Peter & John

The first method of resisting tyranny uses the power of your voice. In Acts 4:1-22, Peter and John are brought before the religious rulers of the time (the Sanhedrin) because they were teaching that Jesus had risen from the dead  and that God can heal the lame and the sick. 

The Sanhedrin realized they couldn’t punish Peter and John because too many people had seen that a crippled man had, in fact, been healed, so they commanded them to stop speaking about such things.

Peter and John replied, “Which is right from God’s point of view? Should we listen to you? Or should we listen to God? You be the judges! There’s nothing else we can do.”

Since punishing them wasn’t an option and Peter and John wouldn’t abide demands to stop speaking, the Sanhedrin wound up just letting them go.

“Which is right from God’s point of view? Should we listen to you? Or should we listen to God? You be the judges! There’s nothing else we can do.” (Acts 4:19-20)

Martin Luther

In 1517, Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses in which he argued the Catholic Church’s selling of indulgences (basically prepaid forgiveness from the Church to reduce one’s time in Purgatory) led Christians to avoid true repentance and sorrow for their sins. 

The Church saw Martin Luther as a threat to their power (and revenue stream) and for this, and other reasons, he was ultimately excommunicated from the Church. Nevertheless, Martin Luther’s bravery helped spark the Protestant Reformation.

Daniel & Edward

Modern examples of speaking out against government tyranny and abuse can be found in the 1971 and 2013 actions of Daniel Ellsberg’s Pentagon Papers and Edward Snowden’s release of classified documents about government surveillance. Both were charged with espionage and theft of government property, though Ellsberg’s charges were eventually dropped. Snowden still faces prosecution and now lives in Russia.

Ellsberg knew that what he did placed him in jeopardy and was prepared “to answer to all the consequences of this decision.” Snowden understood he would suffer for his actions, but did it to “inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.”

The Sanhedrin and the Roman Catholic Church were the ‘big government’ of their time. Peter and John, Martin Luther, Daniel Ellsberg, and Edward Snowden took enormous risks going against their leaders. Regardless of whether you consider their actions treasonous or heroic, they used their voices to stand up against what they saw as government abuse. 

Resist tyranny: your turn

There are plenty of things you can do in your community to speak out against the things you believe are an overstep of government power and authority. Some include:

• Learn persuasion skills like rhetoric and formal logic, then use those skills to discuss different ideas via civil debate
• Speak out at council meetings, school board meetings, or the state legislature
• Sign petitions and/or gather signatures for petitions
• Support candidates who represent your values by money, helping with the campaign (get out the vote, walking neighborhoods, etc.), displaying campaign signs, etc.
• Vote
• Run for office for your local school board, city council, or other public office of interest

Resisting tyranny doesn’t have to come in the form of releasing government secrets or fighting an organized religion. The important thing is to get involved.