Re #72 luddy barsen; it might be a good idea to mention here that Leftists and the anti-religious don’t have a monopoly on totalitarianism. A real-world example might be Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries (IIRC – remember the Inquisition?), for those that call themselves Christian – and of course another is any Islamic country one cares to name, right now.

A fictional example can be summed up in one name, one much more likely to represent American reality in the future if you let it. That name is Nehemiah Scudder.

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the Blood of Patriots and tyrants; it is it’s natural manure.”

Well said. To that list I would add “priests”. Assuming that “tyrants” as a set does not have “priests” as a subset. Which is a very shaky assumption.