So, we live in a democracy. We’ve seen tyranny around the world. Sometimes you see changes around you and ask, “will we have tyranny in our time?”

Tyranny doesn’t always happen overnight. Sure, a coup could happen overnight, but not without building support over time from a large number of people. So usually you have time to spot one.

I’m going to give you three things you can spot in a person to tell if they’re a potential tyrant.

1. This person tells lies constantly.
   Not a few here and there. All the time. Can’t not lie, and will repeat lies over and over again. Look, politicians are prone to lying. Hence why we should have checks and balances. But the more a leader lies, and the more they repeat a particular lie, the more they are trying to build a narrative around them. A tyrant on the rise will not apologize for lying, or admit they were corrected. They also won’t shut up.
2. This person wants you to believe they are the final authority on information.
   No source of info should be trusted but them, or ones that defer to them. They will try to corner the market on what sources are reliable. These sources will only be the ones that they can control or influence, those that flatter them rather than confront them. In a democracy, the press is part of checks and balances, an external force by the people. Ideally. A leader may not like media that is critical of them, but if that leader is obsessed with media that doesn’t constantly make them look good, it’s a sign they’re a potential tyrant.
3. This person wants to apply the rules to everyone except them.
   It could not be conceivable that anything they did could have ever broken a law, even when it’s obvious they did the thing that is illegal. Going back to point number one, they will repeat lies about the corruption of others, as well as the non-corruption of themselves. Going back to point two, they will attack any informational authority that identifies them as breaking a law. This cycle repeats itself.

These are three signs of a tyranny in the making. Spot them early. Tyrants don’t look like tyrants at first. To many people who claim to not like tyrants, tyrants start out looking like strong men, men who get things done, men who say what’s on their mind, or on the people’s mind, men who are outsiders of a system they can fix, men who can be excused of their wrongs because of the great things they accomplish, men who are the only real thing left, men who might as well be the law.

Ask yourself, what’s normal? More importantly, what is normal in my life? What do I want my future to look like? To not look like? Then look around you.

Be vigilant. It can happen anywhere.