When the “Lord Protector” turned out to be the worst tyrant of all

Guest Post by Simon Black

In early 1657, a young farmer from southeastern England named John Washington boarded a small merchant vessel bound for the English colonies in North America.

Officially he was supposed to be part of a minor trade voyage to transport tobacco to the colonies.

But secretly John had no intention of ever returning home. He wanted to sail as far away from England as he could.

Britain in the 1657 was a pretty miserable place. A series of civil wars throughout the 1640s had left the country impoverished and chaotic, leading to the dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell.

Cromwell, in theory, was supposed to be on the side of the commoners who wanted to limit the power of the monarchy. But after installing himself as “Lord Protector” in 1653, Cromwell turned out to be more dangerous and autocratic than even the most tyrannical of kings.

He fought costly, unnecessary wars of ego, and paid for it all by raising taxes far beyond his predecessors. Yet despite the high taxes, he ran a massive budget deficit and further indebted the country.

Cromwell waged genocide against Irish Catholics, while hypocritically preaching unity and tolerance.

His administration jumped into bed with big business (like the East India Company, which “loaned” him the princely sum of 60,000 pounds), yet over-regulated artisans, merchants, and small shopkeepers.

He even confiscated property of those who couldn’t PROVE that they had been loyal to him.

Winston Churchill summed it up centuries later when he wrote, “the rule of Cromwell became hated as no government has ever been hated in England before or since.”

It was this hatred for Cromwell that prompted countless people to flee England forever.

John Washington was one of them; he settled in Virginia colony and had a family there. And more than a century later, his great-grandson George helped found a new nation.

It’s fitting that the American origin story of the first US President started with his great-grandfather who had the courage and independence to leave a brutal dictatorship behind.

This story is as old as history; from the Israelites leaving Egypt, to the Mayflower voyage, people have always sought freedom and opportunity abroad whenever their liberties at home are threatened.

Back then it was difficult. Voyages were dangerous and fraught with risk, disease, and starvation.

By comparison, today we have it easy; we can avail ourselves to much of what the world has to offer without leaving our living rooms.

But I’ll come back to that in a moment.

Have you stepped back lately to look at the big picture… to really take in what’s happening in the world? Honestly it’s difficult to believe.

It’s difficult to believe, for example, that we live in a world where several Dr. Seuss titles have been banned. But you’ll have no problems buying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s mostly peaceful Mein Kampf.

It’s difficult to believe that we live in a world where mostly peaceful protesters can pack together to torch cars and destroy property with impunity, yet everyone else is banned from having family over for Christmas dinner.

Power-hungry politicians are playing God with the economy and have established dehumanizing ‘people controls’ to save us against a virus that has a 99% survival rate.

And Lord Protector Fauci has become a tyrant in his own right.

Big Tech and Big Media refuse to allow any discussion about science and public health policy. Any attempt at rational discourse, including from prized scientific minds, results in censorship or banishment.

Children are taught that they are either victims or oppressors. Mathematics is full of white supremacy. History is racist. Biology is subjective. Capitalism is evil.

Big business has jumped on board the bandwagon, with dozens of major corporations blasting “Jim Crow” voting laws because certain state governments want voters to present valid identification before casting a ballot.

And the Twitter mob is there to keep everyone in check, with legions of people dedicated to being offended about something and destroying the lives of every heretic who dares disagree.

The government is fanning the flames of chaos by pushing Neo-Marxist policies, which they want to pay for with punitive, retroactive tax increases.

The US national debt has soared to more than $28 trillion, vastly exceeding the size of the entire economy, with no end in sight.

Meanwhile the central bank roughly doubled the size of its balance sheet in the past year, stoking inflation and creating a dangerous asset bubble that dwarfs the size of the 2008 financial crisis.

It’s extraordinary that five years ago, even two years ago, most of this would have been unthinkable.

But now it’s happened. And with every book they ban, every person they cancel, every demeaning public health order they issue, and every stimulus check they send, these people are emboldened.

And that takes me back to liberty and opportunity.

This isn’t the first time that freedom-minded people have found their world turned upside down.

But we have it far easier than our ancestors ever did.

We don’t have to risk the perils of a long ocean voyage. We have the whole world at our fingertips.

If you’re concerned about rising inflation, for example, you can buy gold online and have it delivered to a secure vault in a safe country of your choosing.

If you’re concerned about declining economic prospects in your home country, you can invest in rapidly growing frontier markets or more competitive foreign nations.

And if you want to have the ultimate Plan B for your family, you can even establish residency in a foreign country, or obtain a second passport.

All of this, in many cases, you can do without ever leaving town.

The world is not coming to an end. But it’s changing. Fast.

There’s no reason to despair or panic. Instead, have the confidence in yourself that you can use the many tools available to take back control of life, freedom, and prosperity.

All it takes is the right information, and the will to act.

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