In this common sense drought we seem to be in, combined with federal corruption and a movement toward leftist totalitarianism, the Tree of Liberty is parched.

It is withering away and is in dire need of nurturing.

Many are familiar with the words of Thomas Jefferson in his 1787 letter where he said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

If you’ve ever read the entire letter, Jefferson was getting a little sick of England’s misinformation campaign that the great American experiment was already in chaos just a decade after the Revolutionary War.

England kept feeding false information to its public and the world that our Republic was in a constant state of anarchy.

Jefferson essentially said that rebellions every century or so would be necessary to remind governments ruling over free people that it is indeed the people in charge and not the government.

“What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” Jefferson wrote. “Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them.

“What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants,” he wrote.

What our country is going through today is not uncommon in American history. The Revolution and then again during the Civil War are, of course, the most known.

Jefferson essentially predicted the Civil War almost a century before it happened because he knew, “The people cannot be all and always well-informed,” Jefferson wrote. “The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.”

Sound familiar?

Jefferson essentially went on to say that the barrage of lies being told were sufficient enough to convince Americans that the lies were the truth.

The big lie is as old as humanity. And it’s still just as effective.

“Wonderful is the effect of impudent and persevering lying,” Jefferson wrote. “The British ministry have so long hired their (version of the press) to repeat and model into every lies about our being in anarchy that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what more … we have believed them ourselves.”

Jefferson warned – in essence – that a silent majority isn’t a majority at all when he said, “If they remain quiet under such misconception, it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty.”

Jefferson essentially pointed out the reality that free people will be required to rise up against the tyranny that will inevitably attempt to quell liberty whether from the outside or from within, and that it would likely occur at least once every century.

He wasn’t far off from predicting the Civil War. America has since suffered many instances of civil unrest, but perhaps in Jefferson’s understanding of government corruption, America has been blessed to avoid a full scale rebellion for more than two centuries now.

Are we overdue? According to Jefferson, that would be a hard yes.

Perhaps Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers didn’t realize at the time just how brilliant they really were. They were oh so diligent to provide us with the checks and balances essential to the success of the American experiment.

But now we see the rise of tyrants once again whether from across the globe or from this freedom-stealing leftist movement that has weaponized the federal government against its own people.

It is everything Jefferson and the Founding Fathers warned would happen if this country strayed from outside the Constitution that ensures the people, not the government, are in charge.

We have discussed – somewhat in satire – whether a second Civil War is possible. If you look at the state that the Tree of Liberty has fallen into – and the blood of patriots and tyrants that must spill in order to save it – then the question becomes more legitimate.

The question becomes, how much more tyranny are we to stand? The federal government has targeted parents, locked away American patriots and now a liberal DA who campaigned on “getting Trump,” is attempting to humiliate a former (and likely future) president of the United States.

We have a media like England’s version of the media back then – or like a Chinese communist state media – complicit in spreading the latest big lies.

History will be repeated if no one learns from it. It’s not just an old adage, it’s the truth of all truths. And as we look around, one can only wonder if we are sitting on a powder keg waiting for the inevitable lit match to set it all off.

Freedom loving Americans must wake up to this reality. As I’ve said many times over now, we can no longer afford a silent majority. Liberals are counting on us to stay silent, to fear our own government.

That’s not the way the Constitution works. It works as a reminder to the government to fear the people. The left relies on their organization as a mob to quell one individual at a time.

Conservatives must make their presence known. Peacefully, of course, but as Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse, be nice until it’s time not to be nice.

We have so many great Conservative groups in Manatee County. Join them. Support them. Encourage patriotic rallies. Let’s get loud and let’s get proud.

A lot of them are on Facebook, like We the People (formerly Trump Train Manatee), Patriots Taking Action, Let’s go Brandon, Fight for Freedom, Community Patriots Manatee, and the Manatee County Republican Liberty Caucus to name a few.

If you run a Conservative site, let me know so I can let others know. Share these groups with your friends. Let’s bolster their numbers and let us organize.

A special thank you to Kevin Wright at the Manatee County Republican Liberty Caucus for having me as part of a panel discussion on The Politics of War with two other great Americans.

You can go to the Manatee County Republican Liberty Caucus to see a very lively and informative discussion on America’s foreign policy.

Fair warning, I drop the F bomb a couple of times.

I tried to share it myself, but it’s a lengthy video and my little laptop buffered for a very long time trying to share it so I ask you all to pay them a visit to check it out.

These kinds of Conservative groups are invaluable to carry our movement forward. Get involved.

It’s a great way to stay vigilant and stay informed. Also, please keep sharing our visits with your friends. As much as these visits get shared, Facebook continues to minimize exposure so I’m counting on each of you to make sure your like minded Patriot friends are able to get our messages.

And don’t forget to guide them back to Manatee County’s only Conservative news outlet at ManateeHerald.com. It’s your news and it’s always free. Sign up now and make sure your friends get our alerts for the latest Conservative news.