Tyranny 101

Andy, over at the AoSHQ says of this clip: "We Laughed at that.  He's serious... and representative of a sizable swath of the left."

He's right, too.  But I think this is even more insidious than that.

There are two things happening beneath the surface of this clip.

The first is the deliberate conflation of "Rights" and "Privileges."  A right is something that cannot be taken away.  The Government does not- cannot- grant or refuse any right at all.  They can punish the act of engaging in a right.  They can attempt to circumvent or infringe upon rights.  The right still exists independent of what the government does and regardless of what anyone thinks on the matter.  A privilege is granted by the State.  It only applies in certain circumstances.  Sometimes these circumstances are very broad (public education is a privilege), and sometimes these circumstances are very narrow (so is Social Security).

By purposely confusing the two, the Leftists simultaneously make people feel they are "entitled" to certain privileges, while making them believe they are not entitled to practicing certain of their rights.  This brings us to the next point.

The other thing happening under the surface, here, is that the Left is trying to make people believe that the Government is the source of all things.  That air you breathe is regulated by the Government.  The Government provides you the "right" of education, while denying some the "privilege" of gun ownership.  In this way, people come to view the Government not as a group entrusted with authority by, and accountable to, the People, but as a monolithic entity- an Aristocracy in all but name- to which we are all beholden for everything.

They seek to make us slaves, and many are too enamored of their "free" phones, or houses, or TVs, or Internet service to bother to consider the implications.  Which assumes the Government Run education system has imparted to them and honed their capacity for such consideration in the first place.