Obama advice to grads: Antithesis of Jefferson's warning on governmental tyranny

Obama advice to grads: Antithesis of Jefferson's warning on governmental tyranny

130505_obama_commencement_ap_328“They’ll warn that tyranny [is] always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices….”

Delivering the commencement address to the graduating class of Ohio State University, Barack Obama gave his opinion on governmental tyranny. Remarkably the views he expressed run counter to the ideals set down in print by the architect of the Declaration on Independence and founding father, Thomas Jefferson.

During his speech to the leaders of America’s next generation, the Commander-in-Chief warned:

Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny [is] always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.

Unfortunately for Obama, his advice is at diametric odds with the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, which included the following warning to the American people:

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Also, the right-of-center Cato Institute attributes the following to the architect of our declaration of freedom from the tyrannical rule of England’s King George:

Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry.

T. Kevin Whiteman

T. Kevin Whiteman

T. Kevin Whiteman is a retired Master Sergeant of Marines. He has written for Examiner, Conservative Firing Line, and other blogs.

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