Stepping Stones
Tyrants and dictators do not always arrive on the heels of war, a coup or civil war. They can hide behind what appear to be benign political intentions. Liberty may have the appearance of being safe, but as one small piece of "benign" legislation is passed then another it chips away at our liberty.
Laying the Path
Each benign little stone is laid in place as a "reasonable" piece of legislation. One stone in a path to the next stone each made reasonable until you look back and see how far it has taken you. How far is too far if the changes are made slowly enough, when do you realize it has gone too far?
"Experience hath shown that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny." Thomas Jefferson