Tyranny is the natural enemy of Liberty...
What is a tyrant?
How do we identify tyrants?
How do we identify tyranny?
According to WordWeb 3.03...
tyranny is apparently...
1. A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
and/or...
2. Dominance through threat of punishment and violence
a tyrant is apparently...
3. A cruel and oppressive dictator
and/or...
4. In ancient Greece, a ruler who had seized power without legal right to it
and/or...
5. Any person who exercises power in a cruel way
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From this we must ask whether it is possible for a democracy to entrust a Tyrant with leadership?
Further we must ask whether it is possible for a democracy to produce a state of Tyranny?
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Against this very basic framework, it is clear that a large number of the people on the global community's blacklist are in fact tyrants by nature and tyrannical in practice; while most if not all were "democratically elected".
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I hereby propose that if a people should live in a state of fear, or a state of personal insecurity, that by virtue of the properties of such insecurity that those people must in fact be living within or subject to some form of a state of tyranny; albeit that in most instances, the tyranny may be meted out by organised criminals or violent militias, who may or may not be supported by the relevant government.
Avishkar Govender
eThekwini-Durban
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
SADC - AU