What's a liberty lover to do? Authoritarian government seems to be gaining by leaps and bounds. Again. Did humanity learn nothing over the past hundred years?
This time authoritarian government is using captured corporations to crack down on liberty in ways it can't usually get away with, at least in America, due to that pesky Constitution.
Authoritarianism also uses the lies of "safety" and "national security". A variety of tools, all leading to one miserable place.
There is little pushback from the public. I see at least three reasons for this.
First, those who push back are often punished like the January 6th political prisoners. This discourages people from speaking up. They don't want their lives destroyed.
Second, many people are scared of liberty. They want to be guided, coddled, and protected from scary things by a surrogate parent. Government offers to be this parent to those broken individuals. All they have to give up in return is the freedom to do things they have a right to do. Even things their conscience tells them they should be doing. Mommy and Daddy Government say "no".
Third, most people are against too much government, until it gives them money or something else they want. Suddenly they are flexible about how much government is too much; how much they are willing to tolerate. The bribe purchases their silent obedience. Fortunately, this doesn't always work as well as government hopes. Some people are willing to take the enemy's money or privileges, and then bite the hand that feeds them.
I had a high school physics teacher like this. He had a government job, but harbored no illusions about government.
As long as the majority of your neighbors are willing to sell their own liberty out of fear of punishment, fear of other scary things, or for some handouts, your liberty is at risk. Many of these neighbors will be happy to sell you out if you're living life a little too freely, even if you're only doing things you have a natural human right to do. Either because they like to be ruled, or because they are scared you aren't ruled enough. Either way, authoritarian government gets another boost.
At least until it collapses under its own weight-- which it will. There will be interesting times on the path to a free society, but there will eventually be a free society because authoritarianism is a failed system.
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