Fake Jefferson on Tyranny
Rep. Jim Jordan to AG Merrick Garland: "Jefferson said once 'tyranny is when the people fear the government.' We are there. Sadly, we are there. But I don't think the good people of this great country are going to cower and hide." pic.twitter.com/odmH7jmWTo
— The Hill (@thehill) October 21, 2021
“Jefferson said once tyranny is when the people fear the government. Sadly, we’re there,” Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of said on October 21, 2021 during a hearing with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The full quote is more often read as “When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny,” but even that isn’t something Jefferson said, according the fact checkers at Monticello. In fact, the earliest known place this quote has been found is 1914, quite a while after Jefferson died in 1826.
What kind of tyranny was Jordan talking about during this hearing? Moderate level public health measures to keep people alive during a pandemic. Curiously, the Ohio Republican also referred to the “Great Awakening,” a phrase used by QAnon conspiracy theorists.
