Whatever happened to the Pretorians?

Or the Janissaries? Or the Ancient Regime of France? Or the Kempaitai? Or Napoleon’s Old Guard? Or the Manchu (Ming) Banners? Or the SA and the SS? Or the Stasi?

They have vanished from the earth – found only in history. And in the bitter legacy which they left behind, of course.

Those who suffered under these regimes – secret or not-so-secret police, jack-booted thugs, or whatever they have been called were vast multitudes. Many died, many were crippled (physically and mentally), and many were impoverished and imprisoned. But ultimately, a fundamental universal rule kicked in: “This too shall pass.” The tyrants were vanquished.

Why?

Because they were very evil aspects of mandatory human government and were destroyed in various ways. All human government is evil to some degree, even though they can be twisted and used for some good – and sometimes do some significant good things before they are fully corrupted. But these examples were the tools of tyranny, and actually in many cases became not the ruler’s security apparatus but the de facto rulers and those who appointed the rulers. But their power ultimately vanished. As a result of internal rebellion (including the overthrow of dynasties) or external invasion.

But there seems to be a never-ending supply of these enemies of liberty: military and civic and even originally private power-hungry men (and a few women). We can find them throughout history: sometimes seemingly slavishly devoted to a ruler and other times pulling the strings of the puppet ruler.

In that regard, the most egregious case in 2020 consisted of the 51 former senior U.S. intelligence officials who signed a letter just days before the 2020 election claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop information (which implicated Joe Biden in accepting bribes from Ukraine, Russia, China and Romania in exchange for political favors) had the “hallmarks of Russian disinformation.” In fact, the Hunter Biden laptop was authentic, and the FBI knew it at the time. The letter of lies was issued to blunt the issue before the last Biden-Trump debate and Biden used it effectively. These included well-known, intelligent, and personable figures: ringleader Mike Morrell (former Acting Director of the CIA), Michael Hayden (former Director of the CIA and NSA), Tom Fingar (former Chair of the National Intelligence Council), John McLaughlin (former Deputy Director of the CIA) and several others. 

(Not all powers behind a throne (or presidential desk) are freaky madmen like Rasputin or Himmler. Nor as publically bloodthirsty as Uncle Joe (Stalin, not Biden) or crazy like Idi Amin or Mao.)

But the point now is not the madness or the bloodthirsty, brutal nature of such people and regimes and the secret police and evil tactics that kept them in power. It is a fact that these organizations ended.

Actually, were ended. Finally, enough people had lost patience and rose up. Sometimes, these people who rebelled, and their leaders, were as bad or worse than what they replaced. (An example is the various phases of post-Revolutionary government in France, 1789-1815.)

But sometimes, liberty was regained and kept for a period of time. Sometimes lengthy! It did not just happen, though. It required people to desire liberty, to plan and prepare for regaining it, and then take action. Among other things, sacrificing life, liberty, and sacred honor to retain and create freedom and liberty for themselves and their descendants. At least for some generations, and some years.

Because even conditions of freedom and liberty decay – we are human and our institutions are human as well. But the good news regarding tyranny and totalitarianism is simple: “This too shall pass.” And we have to again take action to once again restore it.

Which is the point at which we are at in 2024.

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