Snippet: The Tyrant Impulse

snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Justin Giboney commenting on government and public schools overreach, disempowering parents and encouraging kids to keep secrets from their parents:

“This is what I call the ‘tyrant impulse.’ And both ideologies have this ‘tyrant impulse’ that ‘I have to control you and your family because I know best and you guys are stupid and I have to save your kids even from you.’”

How can we address this when we see it?

I don’t recommend accusing someone of this. That never goes well nor persuades.

It’s probably not even a good idea to bring the “tyrant impulse” idea into the conversation. There’s no way to do it without it coming across as an accusation.

The best thing is prevention by talking about how leaders in government, education, and other vocations need to fight this temptation…pastors included.

But if you have a real-life situation that requires a response, you can talk through the issues without resorting to calling anyone a tyrant…even if you’re pretty sure they are acting like one.

Photo by Erika Fletcher on Unsplash