It seems to that our once loved, once honored, once great nation is suffering mightily in this “winter of our discontent”. Between questionable government mandates, social and economic disruption, and a stolen Presidential election, our nation – and we as a people – are reeling. If one is watching, one can see our liberties, our freedoms, our God given rights being stripped away while we cower behind our useless face masks. The forces of authoritarianism consolidate their control and we can only watch helplessly. I am afraid for my country.
It would be easier to fight this if it were simply governments trying to enslave us, but the evil behind this has used the fear that is stalking us to divide us into warring classes. It is no longer simply a case of standing up to THE MAN, but many of our neighbors are also on the side of the authoritarians. It isn’t black booted, government thugs enforcing these illegal mandates, it is our neighbors willingly doing the bidding of the totalitarian Masters and taking away our freedoms and liberties.
How are we to heal as a nation and a people when the divide between us is so vast and the Left offers no position on compromise? What is the compromise when your position is “abortion on demand” right up through birth? Where do we come together when their only stand is open borders and unlimited immigration? What is the balanced position when you blame an entire race for all the evils and problems in the country? How do we compromise between standing up for America and appeasing nations that seek our demise? What deal is there between law and order and defunding the police?
Even in our response to the so-called Pandemic, there seems to be no room for compromise, nor tolerance of differing points of view. One group demands total compliance with an orthodoxy that has no basis in science, reality, nor recent national experience. Their position is absolute – no give, no compromise, no yielding. It is all or nothing – agree with the lockdowns, the masking, the total authoritarian control or be shamed and shunned.
Somehow, we have lost the ability to analyze, to think critically, to discuss, and to reason. The “science” has become politicized to the point that even ideas that are totally inaccurate are now accepted as truths. Cloth and paper masks cannot filter viruses, but don’t go out in public without one. Contact tracing shows that 75% of new cases seem to come from home and social gatherings, with less than 2% from restaurants – yet restaurants are closed again. Children rarely get sick with the Covid, yet schools remain closed. Small businesses are being crushed by rules and restrictions that do nothing to stop the spread of the Covid. Nine months into it, and if you believe the government and the news media, the “pandemic” is just getting worse. But still, the total authoritarian mindset dominates and brooks no opposition.
We were once willing to live and let live, to accept differences of opinion and different ideas. There was a time when we could express ourselves and be ourselves if we did not interfere with another’s rights and freedoms. There was a time when America – and Americans – were big enough for a wide range of attitudes, opinions, and thoughts. It seems as if she – and we – are no longer big enough for men to be free.
America was once “the last best hope for mankind”. Now, I am afraid that She is a memory fading rapidly on the winter wind.
