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Government Suppression to Reshape America
I don’t know exactly when it happened, but there was a point between the national lockdown and the first wave of unemployment numbers when the COVID-19 pandemic stopped being about the virus and became about fundamentally reshaping America.
Policymakers have taken advantage of a time of vulnerability to offer safety in exchange for our individual liberty, all in the name of “public health.” Harnessing this pandemic-induced fear is the perfect opportunity to reshape American life and create a “new normal” in which the state is the final arbiter of truth and we the people must abide by their new rules.
Bureaucrats and the governing class see a citizenry captive at home, watching the news 24/7. In between sewing masks and waiting for Amazon packages, their eyes are bugged out on death-toll tickers prominently displayed alongside somber-faced reporters now warning of second-wave outbreaks. The #OpenAmerica rallies are colored as mobs of people who put their “selfish” desire to work and feeding their families ahead of the lives of their neighbors.
Our emotions are manipulated as already overstressed families are inundated with stories of infections and death rates, while the historically long lines at food banks are barely mentioned. Concealing information, including the distorted models used by government officials, is a useful tool to prevent people from making informed decisions about their own lives.
The buzz-phrase governors and unelected policymakers and advisors use to justify their actions are exercising an “abundance of caution.” It’s Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s defense against anyone questioning his stay-at-home policy. It sounds like he’s working to protect people, but it’s too vague to pin him on any of his specific policy decisions. I think he found it in A Pantywaist’s Guide to Governing.
Public service announcements are reminding us we shouldn’t let our guard down. The Corona Killer is right around the corner and it will take a united community to defeat this enemy at all costs. For the good of all! It strikes me as eerily close to the slogans delivered to the people of Oceania in George Orwell’s novel 1984.
People in New York City are encouraged to report anyone not abiding by the (police) state to the tattle-line. Even here in little Bloomington, MN, the city established a Park Response Team (PRT). People are encouraged to call the message line if they see “activity in your neighborhood park that you believe is not consistent with CDC guidelines for social distancing.” If offenders fail to comply, the PRT will contact the Bloomington Police Department. This warning was even prominently displayed at my neighborhood dog park.
City of San Clemente, CA, fills skate park with 37 tons of sand.
What’s even worse about leveraging fear to turn people against each other, is the political class who seize this opportunity to fundamentally change our way of life. We should be skeptical of anyone who implements policies for our own good. How can someone in Washington, DC, know what’s best for me in Minnesota, or Bob in Montana, or Greg in Arkansas? As the author and sociologist Frank Furedi explains in his book, Why Borders Matter, men and women in power will expand their power in order to ensure control.
They insist the only path to safety is to accept the mantra of TINA – There Is No Alternative. This shuts down any discussion or debate. Just like the kid who is expelled for eating his Pop-Tart in the shape of a gun, officials are instituting nonsensical “zero-tolerance” policies to counter any dissent. A skate park in San Clemente, CA, was filled with sand to prevent kids from using it against state orders. Anyone who dares question authority is deemed a pariah or heretic in the religion of science. We’ve seen this used for decades as it applies to climate change. Now we are seeing it in the escalating war on private- and home-schooling.
Skepticism is treated as a problem to be dealt with and is often met with an excuse to crack down on any dissent. This may work in places such as China or North Korea, where fear of the government keeps the people enslaved. It is our duty to voice skepticism in matters of government overreach. This is the lifeblood of our republic. We have to resist the imposition of a new normal: conformity by dehumanizing – in which human contact is a sin, masks are used to cover our emotions, and our social gatherings are a criminal act.
For enforcers, individualism is a fire that must be extinguished because it hinders the dogma “for the good of the community” and leads to an unaccountable state. Once a freedom is taken away, nothing short of revolution will be necessary to get it back. It’s been almost 20 years since 9/11. Does it really make us any safer to take our shoes off before boarding a flight at the airport? Yet we have accepted it as the new normal. Now imagine police drones making sure we all keep our requisite six-foot personal space zones.
If we don’t take action to hold our government accountable to the people, we risk losing our liberties. Mission creep is a term often used to describe a gradual or incremental expansion of (usually military) an end goal beyond its initial point of action. It’s commonly used to describe military missions or campaigns, but it’s applicable to civilian endeavors. Take the March of Dimes. The organization was originally founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat polio. Fortunately for children worldwide, the efforts to find a cure were successful. Unfortunately for the organization, it would mean disbandment and those involved would be out of a job. The solution? Pivot the goal and take on a broader mission. Eighty-two years later, the organization has become bloated from a large bureaucracy, and its convoluted mission resulted in a Charity Navigator rating of two stars out of four. (Charity Navigator quantifies the effectiveness of charities, taking into account financial accountability and transparency.) Sound familiar? It’s startling to go from initial reports that we must comply with the lockdown to “flatten the curve” to now justifying extending the lockdown to prevent just one death.
How long will we endure this lockdown for “our own good” before we accept it as just part of American life? I’m not willing to find out, because when if we wake up and find ourselves slaves to bureaucratic whims held up by fear-mongering politicians and their media accomplices, it will be too late.
Published in General
I was surprised at how fast people turned on each other. It makes me sad that people would call the police on their neighbors for violating draconian state orders, turning them in at the drop of a hat. It only breeds suspicion and animosity towards each other and divides communities.
The Democrats got what they wanted – absolute control over the citizenry (with the help of Republican governors) and a trashed economy of Obama-like activity and size. The only thing they haven’t done is prove Trump worked in a biolab in the White House basement to invent the virus – but they’re working on it . . .
“The only thing they haven’t done is prove Trump worked in a biolab in the White House basement to invent the virus – but they’re working on it . . .”
Maybe they’re saving it for an October Surprise.
One of the things I’ve seen a lot on social media is that people are celebrating birthdays and anniversaries with organized drive-bys. Stand in the yard while everyone drives by, waves, signs and balloons stuck on their cars. It’s a lovely way for people to connect and encourage each other in this era of isolation.
So of course our local County Health Kommissar this week decided that such things were forbidden. When asked why, she said “because in the joy of the moment, people might be tempted to get out of their cars.”
The Health Department is getting absolutely dragged for this on Facebook, with many pointing out how the police and fire departments have joined in these drive-by celebrations. So mixed messages much?
We’ve shown a lot of patience around here for the decisions being made, and opinions have been wided and varied. But this woman has seemingly united our whole county against her. Good job, silly woman.
Most people have been willing to comply to social distancing rules for the sake of their neighbors. But you push too far, and people will rebel for the sake of rebellion. And there’s no putting that back in the bottle.
“Most people have been willing to comply to social distancing rules for the sake of their neighbors. But you push too far, and people will rebel for the sake of rebellion. And there’s no putting that back in the bottle.”
I think that really nails it. It’s zero tolerance, zero common sense. If they would rollout opening – or keep allowing – behavior that is safe instead of just looking at through the prism of “essential” or potentially harmful, more people would probably tolerate a longer period of restrictions.
I agree. I think there’s two parts to the silence on the right. One is the possibility of being blamed for people dying. It’s the ultimate emotional weapon and the left uses of with mastery and has for decades. The other is a built in prohibition to assemble. We can’t go out and talk with other parents or co workers at block parties, little league games, happy hours, because they’ve been canceled.
I’m glad to hear you’re recovering from your engineering job. I bet you’re much more successful in the life you have now. Thanks for the comment!
Well, that kind of goes back to the “flatten the curve” idea. Originally we were told to do these things, not so nobody would get sick, but to essentially prolong the cycle so hospitals wouldn’t be overwhelmed. And we flattened it and hospitals were not overwhelmed. But now we’re told we need to do keep doing it so that nobody gets getting sick. And that’s good, but that wasn’t why we were told to do it. The goalposts got moved, and by all accounts this will only prolong the pandemic. Now it’s “only essential activity shall be allowed.” (Not essential business, but essential activity.) Well, that wasn’t part of the deal either, was it? More goalpost moving.
So many decisions being made arbitrarily based on models that have been shown to be way out of line with reality.
Even my wife is starting to rebel. And she’s been our household enforcer of all these arbitrary rules thus far. So if she’s had enough . . .
“Not helpful” has been the rallying cry of the GOP for as long as I can remember. The Tea Party was “not helpful”, Porkbusters was “not helpful”, members of Congress that have the courage to speak out, e.g., Ted Cruz, is “not helpful”. Look where being “not helpful” has gotten us.
Besides, the media and the DNC (but I repeat myself) and some RINOs will never believe that anything we do to fight back against the Powers that Be is legitimate. Tea Partiers where branded as racists, reactionaries, whacko birds, dangerous extremists and more. Members of the Tea Party were as polite, educated, civil as any protesters I’ve ever seen. So no matter what we do, we will always be labeled as extremists who are “not helpful”.
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!” Barry Goldwater
Snitches? How about the LEO that are willing to go into parks and arrest people or get people while paddle boating. I hope all those people that keep saying that law enforcement or military will not enforce laws that are unconstitutional are watching. They will and are enforcing unconstitutional “guidelines” without a second thought and when it is rubbed in their face will gladly say that the constitution is no longer in effect while dragging you to the newly empty prisons.
Not all of them. In some places law enforcement is saying “We will not comply with the orders.” That is true of several counties in Northern Michigan, and I believe I’ve heard the same of some counties in Northern Wisconsin as well.
My brother is a cop in a suburb of the Twin Cities, and I asked him about whether they were harassing citizens for engaging in “non-essential” activity. He shook his head sadly and said that, unfortunately, they have a member or two on their force who are just a little too enthusiastic about enforcing “guidelines.”
Meanwhile in the UK…just a video on police tactics. The color commentary is wonderful.
Funny you mentioned LEO’s as I was going to make that point as well.
Whoever said the 2nd Amendment is the Backstop of all the others was prophetic. It’s tough to say but thinking of the Nazi and Soviet days, there were enough snitches, cops, mayors and military to enforce that oppression.
This is getting weird. I understand how it sounds but I have never felt this way, this anxious about SHTF as an American in my 56 years
I am sure that there are a few that do not relish their new found ability. But when this gets real I expect they will no longer be employed.
He made it sound like it was a couple younger officers, and he’s got seniority over them and hopefully can help keep their enthusiasms in check.
I’m just rambling, but it just seems very sad that as a nation we are not rejoicing in the fact that we achieved a signficant goal of NOT overwhelming our medical system. The LORD heard our prayer. Some of us are grateful. (but the media will never let you know there is a reason to be grateful.)
If we eliminated all sickness everyone on the medical profession/industry would be unemployed. Wouldn’t that be a triumph of sorts?
Or, maybe we should keep some people sick, you know, because those doctors need jobs.
Hospitals and all the associated medical activity have fallen so much, that workers are being laid off, or put on rotating schedules.