As students of history, the Founders understood that tyranny -- the routine use of government power to violate rather than protect individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- is a constant threat. They counseled eternal vigilance against this threat.

Bad advice, says President Obama.

Obama seems to think (a la certain notions of Rousseau) that tyranny ain't really tyranny if you participate, however nominally, in the political processes that spawn the tyranny. So he instructs a 2013 graduating class to ignore those who warn that tyranny is "always lurking just around the corner."

"You should reject these voices . . . because what they suggest is that our unique and creative and brave experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can't be trusted."

Come again, Mr. President?

The American republic was built on mistrust. There have to be checks and balances for a republic to work, and skepticism is key to the whole experiment. The "self-rule" idea becomes a sham precisely when we pretend that people with power can always be trusted.

Obama wants the young people he's addressing to ignore any evidence of present or impending tyranny. Don't be fooled by people who point to this evidence! Reject these voices! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!