Tyranny comes softly. Do not be so smug as to think Americans are somehow of greater intelligence and less resistant to the pull of tyranny than people of past regimes.’ Many Americans have the mistaken impression that totalitarian rulers storm onto the scene with black uniforms, goose-stepping storm troopers, ominous logos and hateful speech, like the faith-based fascist government from ‘V for Vendetta.” This has never been the case. Tyranny is seductive in its pull. It is led by great orators who seem to have the country’s best interests at heart. They pander to the portion of the population that can be controlled and slowly demonize their opposition. They work behind the scenes, quietly manipulating public opinion. They wait until their country allows or even begs them to take power. They take it, and then it is too late. Don’t worry – I am not going to try and compare President Obama to prototypical tyrants like Hitler. Everyone loves to make that comparison with the president they don’t like. Liberals had a heyday unfairly comparing Bush to Hitler, and I will not fall into that trap here. What I want to do is encourage you to educate yourself. Make sure you really understand what is going on, rather than allowing yourself to be spoon fed your world view by biased teachers or media. It is the lack of understanding that allows tyranny to rise. I cannot refrain from citing the timeless words of Ronald Reagan, who said, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.’ Tyranny thrives on ignorance and propaganda, which both seem to be more common on this campus than Natty Light drinking games. In my time here, I have found information on the founding of this country, the meaning of our Constitution and the intent of our founding fathers sadly lacking in our classrooms. Our early history is presented in a skewed, incomplete form, since many details of our founding are inconvenient truths to liberal academics. In all my general education courses here, I have never heard a teacher talk about the limits the Constitution puts on government.’ I have never heard mentioned the faith and philosophies of its writers. I have yet to be given a sound lesson in economics that is not twisted by Marxist and socialist ideology.’ I spent the better part of last year listening to my Ethnic Studies professor try to prove George Washington was a racist. I have found that going to college produces smugness in some. These people sit a few semesters under the opinionated teaching of biased, tenured professors and come out thinking they understand how the world works, dismissing those who don’t think like them as ‘extremist,’ ‘small minded’ or ‘ignorant.’ Instead of getting caught up in emotional arguments, study the people liberals want you to look at as extremists. Study their ideas, and compare them to the ideas embodied in the Constitution. Look at our history. I trust if you take my challenge to truly understand how America became great, you will be appalled by what President Obama is doing to our country and our Constitution.’ He may not be a totalitarian dictator, but he is opening the door to tyranny. His $4 trillion budget spends money your great-grandchildren haven’t even made yet. He is on the verge of taking over dozens of banks. He has already taken over GM. He wines and dines cruel dictators like Hugo Chavez but won’t sit down for a useful discourse with his conservative opposition. He demonizes his opposition by letting the Department of Homeland Security release bulletins to law enforcement that brand ‘anti-abortionists, veterans, and those who oppose a growing government’ as possible ‘right wing extremists’ and ‘terrorists.’ He is raising taxes after promising to cut them, pushing pork projects through congress after promising to eliminate them and hiring lobbyists after promising to banish them. He is setting up every man, woman and child in this country for financial slavery and addiction to the bloated government. He has waged a subtle war against capitalism, slowly turning Americans against private industry. In Obama’s eyes, the needs of the state are more important than the principle America was built upon: individual liberty. It’s easy to be swayed and comforted by what he says. Look instead at what he does.’ Take the time to educate yourself and you will understand just how oppressive the government is becoming. You will be shocked at how far we have strayed from our ideals, and you will see that these tea party protestors just might be smarter and more well-informed than your average college professor would like to admit.