Over the last several months, I’ve penned quite a few pieces detailing the dystopian nightmare Australia has become. Spending most of the last year chasing the impossible standard of “zero COVID,” the once flourishing democracy has been reduced to a medical security state in which people are beaten for daring to be outside without a mask.

I wish I were being hyperbolic, but I’m not (see The Tyrannical Scenes Out of Australia Grow Darker and More Disturbing). Here’s a taste of what people there are dealing with.

The Australian police, “We are here to stop the spread of COVID. This is for your safety!” as they jump out of an armored vehicle, shoot at people on the sidewalk, and smash them to the ground with their rifles. pic.twitter.com/yxCzSgtUCx

— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) September 25, 2021

Stateside, you can think of Florida as the anti-Australia. Despite constant attacks from leftists, most of which live nowhere near the Sunshine State, Gov. Ron DeSantis has recognized that a violation of rights is not justified by misguided notions of “protecting” people from themselves. Where other Republican governors like Mike DeWine and Larry Hogan have clung to a baseless obsession with masks and other ineffective mitigation, DeSantis has stood in the gap and taken the brunt for Republicans around the country who have said enough is enough.

Given that, it’s interesting to see DeSantis go there in regards to what’s going on in Australia.

Gov. @RonDeSantisFL takes a sledgehammer to tyrants ruling over Australia:

"I mean, is Australia freer than China— Communist China— right now?" pic.twitter.com/HKSvUrwPYq

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) September 28, 2021

Not only does DeSantis pointedly say that Australia is not a “free” country right now, he takes it a step further and hits on something I’ve mentioned in the past. Why is the United States government ignoring tyranny in Australia that we’d be decrying if it occurred in China? As DeSantis insinuates, it’s fairly inexcusable that we’d maintain the same diplomatic relations with a country that is behaving like Australia is behaving.

I know that sounds crazy, but just because a country was once part of the Western democratic order does not mean they should get a free pass for committing literal human rights violations. And I’m not talking about “human rights violations” pushed by the global-left regarding voting regulations or supposed inequity. I mean the Australian police literally busting heads over non-compliance with mask mandates.

As DeSantis asks, is Australia even as free as China right now? He doesn’t know, and I don’t know. Sure, I’d like to think that the Australians still have some lines they won’t cross that Chinese otherwise would, but why would I even assume that at this point?

What DeSantis did here should be the standard going forward. Republicans who are afraid of tyranny taking hold at home should be speaking against it abroad, specifically when it involves an ostensibly “free” country like Australia. If anyone thinks that kind of insanity can’t happen here, they are mistaken. The only thing holding the line right now are Republicans, specifically red-state governors, who have been willing to put their necks on the line to push back.

If Joe Biden and company had their way, we’d look exactly like Australia right now. No one should forget that.