…not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 4:6
When my grandson was about ten years old, he presented us with his plan for world domination. It was a sound plan, as far as it went. I think the one mistake he made in his young thinking was his overreliance on military might. But remember, he was only ten and enthralled with all things military.
Military power is a useful weapon in subjugating others, but it is counter-productive to controlling a population over an extended time. A far more effective weapon is the spirit of fear, especially the fear of freedom. Convince people that freedom and individual liberty are dangerous to the common good and you don’t need a strong military—the fearful citizenry will turn on the rebels and crush them for you.
What my grandson needed most to initiate his coup was not to find a country without a standing army in which began his quest, but one in which he could formulate and disseminate a spirit of fear without the force of arms. Once fifty-one percent of the population could be persuaded that their neighbors posed a threat, the cascading effects of suspicion, blame, and the accused’s continued resistance to compliance ensured the “tyranny of the majority”, as Jefferson called it, would result in the slavery of all.
Compulsion from the top down is a heavy-handed road ending, eventually, in rebellion. Compulsion from one’s peers is silent slavery in which the people never realize they are in chains.
In 1947, the United States was party to executing men who, through compulsion, conducted experiments on their fellow human beings. Today, we are shouting from the rooftops in favor of the compulsory invasion of the bodies of our fellow citizens. Most ironic of all is that the victims are the ones being called Nazis.
I have no objection to people trusting in a shot to protect themselves. I strenuously object to them trying to force me to do the same. I have no such trust.
I raised children. I feel that if someone is willing to resort to bribery (our local college is offering $150 to its staff and students who receive the shot) there is something more at stake than the stated objective. That something is ultimately your liberty.
Maranatha
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