“The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.”—George Washington

Mr. Obama, I want to publicly thank you for opening America’s eyes and showing us, with zero ambiguity, what Big Government looks like, and how vicious are its tendencies. In ways I’ve never seen in my 49 years, your administration, in its zeal to punish its political opponents, putting the health of America a distant second, has attempted to shut down national parks and small businesses (dare I say smothering small businesses has always been a goal, this “crisis” being the perfect opportunity to squash them even further?). But these deliberate closures include those that are—oops!—privately funded and/or privately owned, displaying for us the distain you hold for property ownership, the health of our small businesses, and our overall economic strength. Further, your administration has intentionally punished the very men and women, by closing their open-air memorials, who have given their all to defend this great country. But your shameless administration doesn’t stop there. It refuses to speak with the congressional representatives of a large percentage of the American population, many of whom have been without work for years with no genuine concern from you, sent to Washington as their voice. Reports estimate that just 17 percent—yes, just 17 percent—of your colossal government is currently under shut down, yet you would have us believe that the sky is falling, and we need you and your Big G to come to our rescue. Hogwash. Seriously, if we cannot live without a measly 17 percent of an otherwise monstrosity of a federal government that’s grown exponentially under your watch, then it’s patently clear that it’s become a too-big-to-fail boondoggle that’s in desperate need of a giant weed whacker. Pronto.

The fact that you, Mr. Obama, must manufacture hardships on Americans we wouldn’t otherwise notice in a paltry 17 percent shutdown is further proof that government is too damned big, and too damned tyrannical, for its britches:

On Friday, the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina decided it would buck the Park Service’s order and remain open—only to find park rangers come and block the driveway to the inn to prevent anyone from entering. The parkway itself remained open, but the administration said all concessions in national parks must shut.

“I’m questioning their authority to shut me,” Pisgah Inn owner Bruce O’Connell told The Washington Times on Friday as he fought to stay open.

You see, Mr. Chicken Little, you have underestimated the intelligence and the will of scores of Americans. A courageous group of 90-year-old WWII veterans (something you would know nothing about!) removing your Barry-cades barring them from their memorials, a gathering of Vietnam vets determined to visit their wall, and an RV-driving father crushing your pathetic little orange cones should have shown you in the past few days just how resilient and determined we are. In your quest for complete opacity, Mr. Obama, your long-forgotten campaign promise for transparency has inadvertently reared its head: We now see, without a shadow of a doubt, what a petty, vindictive, spoiled-head-of-an-out-of-control-government child you really are. There is no confusion that, alongside your sycophantic Progressive minions in the House and the Senate, you truly believe that you rule over us, not the other way round, and that our representational form of government is dead to you. And I’m disheartened to say that you may be right.

The question is, then, my fellow Americans: What side are you on? The side of liberty? Or the side of monstrous, crushing, remorseless federal power? It’s time to choose. And it’s time to act. Throw off the cones.