Tyranny Starts in Small Places

[Guest]

by Frank Camp

Robert Heinlein said: “When any government…undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives.”

Oppression is a daily occurrence. We are oppressed by our public schools; we are oppressed by our “scientists,” and we are oppressed by our federal government. All major industries related to the federal government have cornered the market on oppression of the people. Public schools indoctrinate our children, universities force Socialist and Marxist ideals on their students, and “scientists” don’t allow anyone into their fields who would question the status quo.

It is with oppression that power is at its strongest.

According to Town Hall:

“An Illinois Social Studies teacher faces disciplinary action for reminding his students of their Fifth Amendment rights when filling out a school survey on behavior…John Dryden was collecting the surveys before class when he noticed the students’ names were printed on them. He looked to see what was being asked and noticed questions about alcohol and drug use…Dryden told his students that they had a Constitutional right to not incriminate themselves by answering questions on the survey.”

As a result of Mr. Dryden informing his students about their basic Fifth Amendment rights, he is now facing disciplinary charges. Lucky for him, numerous people have risen to his defense.

With all the government scandals bringing fresh memories into our minds of past tyranny, it is an incident like this that makes my skin crawl. Tyranny doesn’t have a grand beginning; it never does. It starts with minor incidents; slowly collecting over time, and culminating in outright oppression.

Tyranny takes time to accumulate strength; like a fighter in training. When it’s ready, it will knock us out with a single blow.

First, whether or not it is within the powers of the school to bring the hammer down with disciplinary action, it is entirely absurd. Dryden did absolutely nothing wrong when he merely informed his students of their Fifth Amendment right to decline self-incrimination if they had anything they didn’t want made public.

Second, I’m not sure whether it is within the bounds of the school’s power to ask these types of questions in the first place. Without anonymous surveys being offered, any information provided in ink would be directly linked to the student who filled out the survey. This behavior is unseemly at best and dangerously invasive at worst.

With Dryden facing disciplinary action, I can only shiver at the thought of what else public schools could do with the power they believe they have. Tyranny starts in small places.

http://lastresistance.com/2187/teacher-f...utional-rights/