In America, we have acted in a manner that I would never have believed possible just a decade ago.  America has, for whatever reason, chosen to allow the bureaucrats to decide what businesses are important or essential and which are not.  We have submitted to virtual ‘house arrest’ with little more than grumbling.  People now believe it is their duty to inform on their neighbors and other family members.  We have accepted the impending fate of thousands if not millions going bankrupt because of government edicts.  That is a serious situation that can and likely will affect far into the future allowing the power-hunger to gain more power.

We have ignored the reality that those in power issuing their edicts and lockdown orders are ignoring the dangers other than the virus in their edicts. We now have documented evidence of the psychological dangers as well as some ignored health risks as people try to comply.  The spike in addiction, the increase of those falling off the wagon in their fight to stay sober, the increased hunger, bankruptcy, depression, and domestic violence are inconsequential to the authoritarians.  I am not saying, the virus does not impose a threat, but at what cost do we fight this virus and overlook the other dangers embodied in the edicts of the government?

I have read the reports of the World Food Programme who suggested that as a result of COVID-19 it is likely that 130 MILLION people in the world will be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020.  That is staggering!  That is ‘as a result of COVID-19’.  If that does not get your attention, what will?

What will it take for the bureaucrats to give us back our lives in America?  How flat will the curve have to be for them to restore our freedoms and liberties?  Frankly, I do not believe we could ever achieve a level that would result in them fully restoring our liberties and freedoms. Freedoms we have willingly surrendered.  Freedom lost is never regained, at least not fully.  When those in power, who are power-hunger elitists, achieve a surrender of liberties they never relinquish their control.  It is a means to an end for them and having us under their thumbs is part of the overall objective and endgame.

History is replete with examples of Tyrants and Despots gaining or grabbing power and many of the earmarks are visible in the COVID-19 pandemic action and reaction.  I am stunned at the willingness with which people have surrendered their liberties and lives to the government.  I would never have envisioned this day in America, but alas that is a picture of modern America in 2020.

We have created a situation, through fear and a genuine desire to be safe, that has allowed the elected officials and unelected bureaucrats to define essential and non-essential.  Thereby, defining whose lives are valuable and whose are not.  Before you protest and argue that I am overstating the situation, I ask that you consider a few pertinent examples from history.

In the throes of Bolshevism under Stalin and National Socialism under Hitler, there is an incredible similarity in what we have witnessed.  When the tyrants, who posed as benevolent leaders, gained unlimited leeway in how they managed or manipulated the populace, freedom was lost.  In the book by Hanna Arendt, “Origins of Totalitarianism” she details how this transpired and result.  The outcome, as we know, was not a pleasant ending for most of the citizenry.

She presented an arresting reality that “from day to day it was impossible to predict what new canard or atrocity might transpire from the slack given the leaders.”  It seems that the vaguer the objective, coupled with the fear of the public, the leaders gained more and more power and took more control.  Control they never relinquished.

Leo Trotsky, commander in chief of the Red Army in Russia could have been speaking to the leaders of this lockdown in America and the world. He was not talking about a pandemic and containing it but control but it applies.  Saving lives was the last thing on his mind.  To him, like most tyrants and despots, human lives were dispensable commodities and the greater cause of the tyrant makes human life valueless. 

What he had to say, echoes in the actions of the drivers of this mandated lockdown.  The focus was not life or liberty and that was echoed in the words of the New Jersey governor who said, “I was not thinking of the Bill of Rights in my actions.”  Why not?  Because he and the would-be, lords, and ladies of government do not deem the Constitution or the Bill of Rights their guides.  They believe they are the overlords with all power.

The motive of tyrants and despots in history has been having control, not lives, or the needs of humanity.  I keep asking, “Have the leaders overstepped their constitutional bounds and inflicted a form of servitude on the citizens?”  Yes, that is a very serious question and charge, but one I feel driven to ask and keep asking.  Some governors and mayors have opted to view the needs of the people overall rather than simply focusing on unachievable total protection and eradication of this or any virus. 

It seems that many government officials hold the view of utilitarianism espoused by J.S. Mill and J. Bentham, that “Liberty may go so far and no farther.”  They seem to believe they are duty-bound to deprive people of liberty in an attempt to protect society.  Wasn’t that what Benjamin Franklin addressed?  We are told and many if not most seem to agree that the lockdown is good, moral, and right.  After all, if it saves one life, right? 

My concern is where is the line of demarcation between saving human lives and allowing bureaucrats to rule with an iron fist?  I don’t know how many lives our massive lockdown has saved, but I can calculate the lives destroyed.  I can see the danger of government officials becoming dictatorial in their governance. 

How many lives are lost every year through various health-related issues?  In the three months of COVID-19, we have had roughly 60,000 deaths and almost half of those in the New York metropolitan area.  Then compare that to the reality that in any given month we have 157,000 deaths from various health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, etc.  That would equate to 471,000 in three months compared to approximately 60,000.  Is a 60/471 ratio a proportional justification for what we have done?   That demands we ask what is different about this.

We have over 30 million people whose livelihoods have been massively altered if not destroyed.  We were initially told that to fail to take the steps we have taken would result in millions of Americans dying and if we did still upwards of a million would die.  That has not been the reality.  Has this been a massive power-grab as well as an effort to save lives?  I think yes.

We have Bill Gates, Mr. Vaccine who wants to reduce the size of the world’s population, Jeff Bezos, and others insisting that reopening before a vaccine and the cure is found is too soon.  When will the level of safety and cure they insist we achieve transpire?  NEVER!  They have none of the financial concerns most of us do.  They are part of the establishment government essential people, most of us are not.  Is this a forerunner to a total take over by the federal government?  I do not know, but I am concerned. 

I am concerned about lives and want no life lost.  However, I want no life lost through abortion.  I want no life lost because some politicians have stripped citizens of their ability for self-defense.  I want no life lost because people are so distraught and destroyed by the loss of their livelihood, businesses, future, and hope.  We cannot save everyone and must act reasonably when trying to save whomever we can.  Have we?  You and you alone can answer that and that will largely determine how you vote in November.

I trust God, not the government.  I will not live in fear although it may sound like I am fearful because of what I have said.  I believe that the American spirit and determination can and will prevail.  It will be a long road, providing we do not further relinquish our liberties to those on the Left who want Total Control. 

God bless you and God bless America.  We must not lose!