How does a seemingly free, democratic country fall into authoritarian tyranny? That’s a question that’s often been asked over the decades, and Australia is now providing a case study of how it happens.

COVID-19 has been the mechanism for an incredibly disturbing array of liberty-crushing measures in the land down under. But what is perhaps most disturbing is how flippantly officials speak of stripping people of their rights. That arrogance was on full display in a recent video showing the announcement of a two-tiered society in Australia.

There are apparently no lines these lunatics won’t cross.

Australia has created a two-tiered class system based on vaxx status. pic.twitter.com/kWvrhnFE7U

— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) October 7, 2021

The Aussies are now essentially telling people they can’t work or eat if they don’t get the vaccine. Not in a high-risk category? Already have natural immunity, which is proven stronger than vaccine immunity? There are no exceptions. For Australian officials, “science” is what they say it is, and they’ve decided to never let a crisis go to waste.

Of course, there’s the other side of this. Australians have long had a choice in how they respond to what’s occurring in their country. They could meekly accept the encroachment or decide that they simply will not comply. And while we’ve seen plenty of hectic protest videos of people pushing back while police are assaulting them, the majority of the country seems to not only be compliant, but supportive of the measures. At some point, you get the exact amount of tyranny you are willing to tolerate as a society, and Australia’s officials have surmised that the residents of their country are willing to tolerate a heck of a lot.

What’s the end game? COVID hysteria forever. I see no reason to believe these out-of-control officials are going to cede power and start treating people with respect again in the future. And why would they? They’ve gotten a taste for unlimited power, and it is prone to do, that power has corrupted them. No one is making them pay a price for their actions.

So to answer the question of how a seemingly free, democratic society falls into authoritarian tyranny, the answer is that the people allow it to.