Do you remember the chaos and turmoil of 4 years ago? We spiraled from "two weeks to flatten the curve" to "indefinite lockdowns of almost everything" so quickly, and with so little real evidence supporting the decisions imposed upon us by the so-called experts. I was in favor of caution, but questions were mounting quickly as time went on.
The economic shutdown and soft quarantine disturb me deeply. I don't want to minimize the risk of the virus, but going the other direction doesn't make sense either. Caution is good, but what we face is fear fueled by yellow journalism and government grandstanding. The politicians and journalists have cried 'wolf' so many times it's hard to take them seriously, and I haven't been able to see why this SARS is exponentially worse than the last one.
- Coronavirus Musings, by me, March 30th, 2020.
I know my political attitude inclines me to resist all forms of authoritarianism, and I try to find a balance between resistance and rational considerations. Governments are evil, but that doesn't prove everything they say is completely false. But every time I try to cut them some slack, it seems to prove my instincts. I fell for the 9/11 narrative at first. I was cautious, but still not as resistant to the COVID regime as I should have been. But I am trying to learn, grow, and be more discerning. I'm glad I didn't fall for the claims it was a deliberate bioterrorism attack, at least.
I still see people wearing masks now, long after they have been soundly discredited as having any effect on COVID transmission. When I go to stores, I have flashbacks to one-way aisles and markings every 6 feet to ensure "social distancing" based on... what? Absolutely nothing. Yet we were subjected to busybody control freaks who claimed compliance was virtue, and dissent was practically terrorism.
We should have learned a few basic lessons.
- Government officials are not experts, and must always be assumed wrong until proven right, regardless of their titles and credentials.
- Your neighbors are willing to betray you and trample your rights based on falsehoods and fear because the TV told them to.
- No one is coming to save you. Be prepared as best you can before an emergency hits, because access to whatever you consider essential can be ripped away.
I am still grappling with my personal mental health scars from this debacle. A few of the COVID crusaders are saying it's time for us all to forgive and forget, as if we all made mistakes and owe mutual apologies to the Karens who crushed our spirits, destroyed businesses, separated families, and worse. Many just insist they "did the best they could with the information they had," as if no one was silencing anyone who dared challenge them. I am willing to forgive, but I will never forget what they did to us.
I recently bought a book entitled Diary of a Psychosis: How Public Health Disgraced Itself During COVID Mania, by Thomas E. Woods. He compiled his archive of newsletters, podcasts, and articles to assemble a real-time exposé of COVID and its consequences as everything happened, and shows what the skeptical public was able to learn in spite of media and government collusion to silence naysayers. Woods even inspired the COVID Charts Quiz to test whether anyone could tell when any given policies took place based on public health data, or which communities had stricter policies based on their trends.
Even as April 2020 approached, there was an obvious disconnect between what we had been warned about, and what we could see around us. But so many refused to apply reason and observation to challenge the official narrative. Is this a "red pill" or a "black pill"? Can we learn a lesson to avoid this kind of problem, or is humanity doomed to fall for whatever new Chicken Little scare story is told next? Will the little boy who cried "wolf" so many times eventually be right, bu no one will listen because of all the lies for so long? And will people still demand the government that so woefully mishandled COVID still be granted more power over our lives and livelihood?
More relevant 2020 posts
March 8, Coronavirus: Epidemic or Overblown?
March 13, Coronaviruses and Market Crashes
March 22, Into the Plague Wastelands
March 26, Emergency Preparedness
