Tyranny is arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power, especially by a tyrant or absolute ruler. History provides many examples of tyrannical governments ruled by a despot. Its etymological roots are in both Latin and Greek: Late Latin tyrannia, and the Greek tyrannos meaning master.
Increasingly Leftists demand tyranny in the form of liberal censorship or imprisonment without a speedy trial, as in the case of ordinary Americans locked up indefinitely for their political protests on public property known as the 2021 Capitol protests.
Book of Isaiah contains the only express warning in the Bible against "tyrants", at Isaiah 49:24-25 :
| “ | Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?
For thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. |
” |
President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address:
- "To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny."[1]