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Tucker Carlson in his Jan. 25, 2021 show. Fox / video screen grab

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UNITED STATES, January 26, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Fox News host Tucker Carlson warned Americans of a “profound change” taking place in their country right now with the advent of the Biden administration where the line between “democracy and tyranny, between self-government and dictatorship” is being crossed in the name of saving the country from “forbidden ideas,” especially those held by conservatives.

“We’re watching a profound change taking place in American society that’s happening very fast,” said Carlson on his Jan. 25 show. Carlson said that the “stakes could not be higher.”

“Government can try to prevent you from committing murder, or rape, or from speeding, or jaywalking. That’s all allowed. It’s legitimate. But, no democratic government can ever tell you what to think,” he said.

“Your mind belongs to you. It is yours and yours alone. Once politicians attempt to control what you believe, they are no longer politicians. They are by definition dictators. And if they succeed in controlling what you believe, you are no longer a citizen. You are not a free man. You are a slave,” he added.

Carlson pointed as evidence for his claim to proposed legislation from Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy that would, according to Carlson, “ban anyone with the wrong opinions from having a significant job in the federal government.” Murphy, a former Pentagon official, created the bill to specifically block QAnon adherents and others deemed to be conspiracy followers from obtaining the security clearances necessary to accessing classified federal government information.

The Security Clearance Improvement Act of 2021 would “require applicants seeking to obtain—or maintain—a federal security clearance to disclose during their background investigation if they (1) participated in the January 6, 2021 activity at the U.S. Capitol or a similar “Stop the Steal” activity, or (2) have ever been a member of, associated with, or knowingly engaged in activities conducted by an organization or movement that spreads conspiracy theories and false information about the U.S. government—like QAnon, a group that has been tied to the Capitol attack.”

“What we discovered was that there was a shocking number of people involved in that insurrection who seemingly live normal lives, working in government and law enforcement and the military,” Murphy told The Daily Beast in a Jan. 22 interview. “It’s really dangerous for individuals who hold these types of views to receive a security clearance and access to classified information… if any Americans participated in the Capitol attack, or if they subscribe to these dangerous anti-government views of QAnon, then they have no business being entrusted with our nation's secrets.”

Commented Carlson: “Believe forbidden things and you don't get a security clearance. You can't work here.”

Carlson pointed out that according to Murphy's standards, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff, a Democrat from California, would potentially be unable to hold his current federal government job due to pushing claims about former-President Trump's alleged “collusion” with Russia.

“At this point [Murphy's bill's criteria] would include everyone pretty much currently in power,” said Carlson. “Yes, they were knee-deep in conspiracy theories that actually hurt our country in measurable ways. But, this legislation isn't designed to punish them, just the opposite: This legislation is designed to protect them from your criticism.”

“Under Stephanie Murphy's bill, anyone who criticizes Stephanie Murphy could be punished. Make sense now?”

Carlson also pointed to the recent push to have the Fox News channel banned so that Americans cannot watch it as evidence of leftist-controlled media and government trying to “take total control of everything.”

“Their new idea is that this channel should not be allowed. Now, they are not arguing that Fox News is inaccurate and dishonest and you shouldn’t watch it. They are arguing that you shouldn’t be able to watch Fox News because Fox News should be eliminated by force,” he said. Carlson pointed to a Jan. 22 tweet as evidence where former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas asked: “Should Fox News be allowed to exist?”

Carlson said that to be American means, among other things, holding that “people we disagree with should still be allowed to talk in public.” He pointed out, however, that the word “democracy” is now being used to quash dissenting voices.

“In the name of ‘democracy,’ clearly the term of the moment, in defense of the people’s will, we must censor people and make certain that individuals can’t read and hear what they choose to read and hear,” said Carlson about the leftist elite’s agenda, adding that “at least they are being honest about it.”

“Information is power. They want the power. So, therefore, they must control the information. And so, they are. That’s what’s happening,” he said.

Carlson pointed to Fox founder Rupert Murdoch as someone who is aware of the problem and is fighting back. Carlson quoted from a speech Murdoch made after recently accepting an award from a foundation in the U.K.:

“For those of us in the media, there is a real challenge to confront a wave of censorship that seeks to silence conversation, to stifle debate, to ultimately stop individuals and societies from realizing their potential. This rigidly enforced conformity aided and abetted by so-called social media. It is a straightjacket on sensibility. Too many people have fought too hard in too many places for freedom of speech to be suppressed by this awful woke orthodoxy,” Murdoch had said at the ceremony, as quoted by Carlson.

Carlson then brought journalist Glenn Greenwald on his show to comment on Stephanie Murphy’s bill.

“It's so ironic they spent four years claiming they are fighting fascism and authoritarianism, and what are they trying to do now? They're trying to harness corporate and monopoly power to silence everyone who disagrees with them, the very hallmark, the epitome of the fascism they claim to be fighting, but which in reality they embody,” Greenwald said.

“Tucker, they genuinely want everyone who disagrees with them silenced. I know it sounds like hyperbole if you don't pay attention constantly to the news. And it's not just random people who are saying it, it is leading members of the Democratic Party.”

Greenwald said that leftists in media and government are now exploiting their power to “regulate corporations and monopolies.”

They're saying it outright. They're saying, ‘we now control and regulate your industry and we demand that you stop using your advertising money for this network that criticizes us, the party in control.’ Now, if that isn't authoritarianism, what is?”

“They want to shut everybody off the internet. They destroyed an entire social media platform [Parler]. They just took it off of the internet, because they instructed Silicon Valley monopolies that it was their obligation to remove it,” Greenwald said.

“It is very chilling. You really can't overstate how bloodthirsty they are and the control that they're trying to exert over our discourse,” he added.