Leviathan: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

We all know the Grinch: a creature who looked down on a cheerful town and decided their joy was a problem to be solved.

That part, at least, feels familiar.

Because somewhere along the way, America built its own Grinch—not a villain in a cave, but a system in Washington that treats ordinary people the same way the Grinch treated Whoville:
as something to supervise, to manage, and whenever necessary, to deprive “for their own good.”

No fur. No green.

Just a machine that grows a little larger every year by taking responsibility for things that once belonged to citizens.

The Modern Grinch Doesn’t Steal Toys—He Steals Permission

The Grinch of the story had to sneak into houses.

Leviathan doesn’t.

He arrives with rules, guidance, and the confidence of an entity that never has to ask permission yet requires you to ask for everything Even worse? Expects you to submit, unquestioningly, to everything

The original Grinch stole presents.

This one steals choice.

And unlike the cartoon, he doesn’t need a sleigh—just a regulatory code that gets thicker every December.

How He Steals Christmas Now

The old Grinch believed if he took the Whos’ things, he could control the Whos’ spirit.

Modern bureaucracy operates on the same assumption.

1. It steals your time

Because nothing says “holiday cheer” like mandatory filings and deadlines.

2. It steals your competence

Every rule implies you, viewed as a dirty little peasant by the ruling class, aren’t intelligent enough to be trusted with governing your own life.

3. It steals your community

What used to be handled locally now passes through distant systems with distant priorities that are unresponsive to you.

4. It steals your sense of ownership

Traditions, choices, and everyday freedoms slowly shift from personal to “regulated.”

None of it arrives in a coal-sack over a shoulder—it arrives in the Federal Register.

The One Thing the Grinch Never Expected

In the Seuss story, even after everything was taken, the Whos still gathered and sang.

That’s the part Leviathan never anticipates either.

Because the instinct toward self-governance doesn’t disappear—it resurfaces whenever people notice something essential drifting out of their hands.

No number of rules can extinguish that.

And no system, however large, can fully account for people who decide they’ve had enough.

The Lesson Worth Remembering

Christmas was saved in Whoville not because the Grinch softened on his own—but because the Whos acted like free people even when someone else tried to tell them they weren’t.

That’s the thread worth pulling today.

Because nothing changes until citizens stop waiting for the Grinch to grow a heart—and start reclaiming what was always theirs in the first place.