I urge my colleagues to join me in this mission to block

In an age of uncertainty and fear, when nations trembled before unseen enemies of disease and doubt, the controversial lawmaker George Santos spoke words that burn with the fire of defiance:
"I urge my colleagues to join me in this mission to block tyrannical and draconian measures from being utilized by the Federal Government. If a public health emergency has been declared, then the federal agency looking to impose the mandate must submit a report to Congress and highlight the intent as well as the research behind the vaccine."

Whatever one may think of the man himself, his words carry a truth that echoes through the corridors of time — a warning as old as power itself. For behind his plea lies the eternal struggle between freedom and control, between the right of individuals to question authority and the temptation of rulers to command obedience in the name of safety. When fear grips the world, men are quick to trade liberty for protection, but the wise remember that even the purest intentions can become the tools of tyranny.

The meaning of Santos’s declaration lies not merely in the resistance to mandates, but in the defense of accountability — the belief that even in times of crisis, the government must remain transparent to those it serves. He calls not for rebellion, but for oversight: that no decree, however noble in aim, should bypass the light of scrutiny. For once the rulers act without consent or explanation, the republic begins to decay in silence. It is in the name of public health today; tomorrow, it may be in the name of order, or security, or peace. Thus the chain is forged link by link — each one justified by fear.

History bears grim witness to this pattern. In the days of the Roman Empire, the Senate granted emergency powers to Caesar to defend the Republic against chaos. But when the crisis had passed, the power remained — and freedom never returned. Likewise, in later centuries, monarchs and ministers claimed divine or moral authority to act “for the good of the people,” yet their decrees often crushed the very people they vowed to protect. The lesson is plain: tyranny rarely enters by force; it enters by permission, cloaked in necessity.

Santos’s call, then, though born in controversy, reminds us of a principle as ancient as law itself — that power must be watched, especially when it claims to save us. He demands that if a government seeks to impose mandates, it must show its reasons openly, reveal its research, and justify its intent before the representatives of the people. In this insistence lies the spirit of constitutional vigilance — the idea that truth is not the possession of rulers, but the birthright of the governed. For in a democracy, it is not obedience that preserves order, but accountability.

The origin of his concern springs from the recent age of pandemic, when the world was torn between the urgency of survival and the preservation of liberty. In those years, governments across the earth acted with unprecedented authority — closing borders, mandating medicines, restricting movements — often in haste, sometimes in secrecy. Many accepted this as necessary; others saw in it the seeds of despotism. Santos’s words rise from that storm — a voice, however flawed, echoing an ancient question: How much freedom must we surrender to be safe? And can safety ever justify the loss of freedom?

To illustrate this struggle, consider the tale of Athens during the great plague of the Peloponnesian War. As disease swept through the city, the people, once proud of their democracy, grew fearful and demanded stronger control. Leaders made decrees without counsel, and citizens obeyed without thought. When the plague subsided, Athens was no longer the same — its democracy weakened, its people accustomed to command. The historian Thucydides wrote that the plague destroyed not only bodies, but the spirit of law itself. So too in every age: when fear rules, freedom withers.

Thus the lesson is not one of defiance for its own sake, but of wisdom. The people must never allow fear to dull their reason nor trust to blind their vigilance. Let the government protect the nation, but let it also be watched, questioned, and held to account. For freedom is not preserved by silence, but by the courage to demand explanation.

Let this teaching, then, be passed to future generations: when the world trembles and rulers promise safety at any cost, remember that power without scrutiny is the seed of tyranny. Even in times of sickness, the cure must not be more deadly than the disease. A free people must always ask, “Why?”, for the moment they cease to ask, they cease to be free.

Thus ends the teaching: guard liberty even in crisis, question authority even when it seems righteous, and demand that truth be spoken in the light — for only then shall freedom endure through every storm.