No matter where you go, there are always two different types of voices telling you where to go and who to be. “The one,” as John Trenchard said, “making common sense dangerous, and enquiries criminals; vowing the spirits of men, and rebuking the sallies of virtue; while the other, at the same time, encourages the improvement of the understanding, rewards the discovery of truth, and cultivates, as a virtue, the love of liberty and of one’s country.” 

Once a tyrant obtains power, he will use it to gain more power. The influence of the tyrant’s voice can be heard everywhere! At school, on the news, or even just casually walking around the grocery store, there are almost always voices shouting or sometimes just whispering at you, attempting to influence your decisions. These voices of the tyrant will tell you it is dangerous to think for yourself and that being virtuous is shameful; these false ideas are more prominent than the second voices. The second voices Trenchard mentions, though much harder to hear, can also be found everywhere. Anything that encourages you to do good, to learn, and to stand up for liberty, are the voices that will eventually lead you to liberty and virtue. Trenchard also proclaimed, “a few loud words rule the majority, I had almost said, the whole world.” Tyranny is loud, it is prominent, and it is dangerous; however, the harder we work, the louder we can become and liberty will be more prominent than tyranny. First, we need to listen to the right voices and be influenced by only good and virtuous things, then, we must shout from the top of our lungs, letting everyone know that we will not be ruled by a tyrant, we will fight to restore liberty, and we will not settle for anything less. 

Yours truly,

Publius