Among the many things that make America different in the world are the freedoms we have as outlined in our Constitution. The First and Second Amendments top the list.

The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms. A nation where its citizens have the means and ability to protect themselves from tyranny ensures the ability to remain free. Any nation where the government has taken away citizens’ rights to defend themselves will not stay free long.

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a free press, the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. Government cannot establish a state religion, and it cannot stop citizens from practicing their faith as they see fit.

Those were the days, weren’t they? Some of us who are older remember when these freedoms were taken for granted. We do that today at our own peril. Stifling free speech if it’s not popular or, worse yet, the speech of those who call out tyranny or abuse of power is a slippery slope. When your government calls anything it doesn’t like “hate speech” or “political extremism,” totalitarianism is not far away.

Think I’m being extreme? Consider this. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed the “Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland.” Per DHS, the “threat actors” it’s concerned about are seeking to “exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest,” which could result in acts of violence.

The DHS report went on and warned of “mass casualty attacks and other targeted violence” by those “acting in furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances.” These potential threats come from citizens consuming the “wrong” online content. And what is the “wrong online content”? Anything the Biden administration says it is.

Big Tech has been squelching content for some time but went into overdrive during the Trump administration. Fake news was anything the Left said it was. As I said last week, anytime leftists accuse conservatives of doing wrong, they’re usually projecting on us the very things they are doing themselves. DHS went on to say citizens should basically spy on their fellow citizens to report any unapproved speech. What could possibly go wrong?

The Biden administration is establishing its own “domestic terrorism” unit and routinely describes Republicans and their supporters as a domestic threat to democracy. Salon magazine published a piece last week in which it called the GOP a “terrorist organization” … and Trump supporters want to start a war against democracy!?

The Washington Post on the same day wrote that the “antidemocracy” GOP “stands for insurrection and authoritarianism” and poses a “dire danger to U.S. democracy — to the lives of ordinary Americans.”

Am I missing something? It wasn’t Republicans who burned, looted, and murdered (BLM) all across the nation in 2020. It wasn’t the GOP that wanted to defund police. And it wasn’t Republicans who raised bail money for violent criminals to be released back on the streets to continue the violence.

While the origin of the quote is in dispute, the reality of it is not: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Something to pray about?