In a recent column Leonard Pitts presented his view on tyranny, acknowledging that it will not arrive through guns, gun control, jack-booted thugs, or the like.  Pitts reminds us that the erosion of our civil liberties can be subtle, and “justified” through fear.

With gun nuts railing against imaginary gun seizures, we are distracted from the very real and deeply ingrained “tyranny” that already affects our everyday lives. That is the invisible tyranny of wealthy and corporate interests who “guide” our lawmakers’ decisions while successfully blocking out the voices of ordinary citizens.

Corporations are not people, and have very narrow interests in mind. Which businesses make decisions based on our common welfare, and long term economic stability, rather than on their own growth and profits?

Tyranny also shows up in people who want to keep science out of our schools. Knowledge is our best weapon against tyranny, but we seem to lack the curiosity needed to seek out more knowledge than what is conveniently handed to us.

Tyranny shows up in slick advertisements that neglect to tell you the negative aspects of using their products.

Tyranny shows up in people who wish to use religion as a form of mind and crowd control.

Tyranny is found in laws that favor business over public knowledge of facts that affect them, such as our current crop of Ag-gag laws.

We seem to regard business opportunity and bottom-line profiteering as gods to be worshipped, rather than tools with which to build our communities.

Our lawmakers need to be people of exceptional knowledge and wisdom. It is difficult to make good decisions without having all relevant information. Lobbyists with money are very good at portraying their pieces of information as the sum total of relevant information.

This “cultural” tyranny of controlling and misdirecting knowledge, aided by our obedient mainstream media, is far more damaging than bad legal rulings that can be challenged in courts.

Laura Twing lives in Cedar county, with her husband and various animal companions.