Should You Be Worried? (part one)

Dear family…. I love you all!

That is why I cannot, in good conscience, refrain from sharing the following information.

I understand this will be received with various degrees of receptivity. I understand each person will draw their own conclusions. I understand we may not all agree, and that’s okay with me.

There is no doubt we are experiencing a ‘crisis’ unlike any we have experienced before. Whether warranted or not, society has been shut down, schools closed, businesses shuttered, and the economy crushed. Unfortunately, I honestly believe we are far from escaping this fiasco, and the worst is yet to come. Why do I think that?

The logic is simple: ‘They’ (government officials, the powers that be, etc) have taken extraordinary preemptive measures, based on significantly flawed projections, which have radically restricted personal freedom and private enterprise. In effect, they have used fear to rationalize the implementation of authoritarian policies that are sketchy at best, and many believe to be entirely unconstitutional. With this new authority, they now dictate what is best for everyone, as we ‘collectively’ go to war against a scary invisible enemy that will crash upon us in wave after wave.

The stage has been set to justify total control over our lives for an unlimited amount of time. How quickly this has happened! For now, let’s skip over the fact that the vast majority of people are known to recover without serious effect. Isn’t it fair to ask why? Why now? Why not with H1N1, Ebola, or SARS? Regardless of the reasoning, isn’t it still fair to ask if the current draconian measures, destroying life as we know it, are the only reasonable solutions?

Assessing the situation, I believe this is a flawless sham. Some believe it has been planned.

I could go on and on about the theories of why this is all happening, but I will resist in an effort to drive straight to the most troubling point: We are rapidly losing our freedom of choice. (Actually, it would be more accurate to say that we are forfeiting our freedom for the illusion of safety and protection.) Still, closing schools, social distancing, working from home, and wearing masks all seem quite benign, so why would any good citizen resist such commonsense measures? I assure you that is not the point.

Consider this precedent: You can no longer participate in public life without mandatory compliance to rapidly evolving arbitrary laws. Right now, across America, people are being monitored by their phones, drones are being used to reinforce social distancing, and people are being forcefully removed from public spaces for noncompliance. Even neighbors are turning each other in. This is all so insane and unimaginable to me, if it were not playing out in real time I would hardly be able to believe it.

In fact, I don’t want to believe it. I want to look the other way, to assume that everything will work itself out, to pretend that sooner or later things will ‘get back to normal’. But that’s just wishful thinking. Many astute individuals have articulated exactly why this is not going to happen. Even Dr. Fauci himself says it might not ever happen. There are many reasons why, but again I will refrain from the tangent to be as clear as possible: Normal as we’ve known it, is no longer possible.

The infringement upon personal freedom, the misinformation and intentional fleecing, the incessant and insidious onslaught of propaganda and fear mongering… all of this has me more than a little disturbed. Surely this is a time to keep our eyes wide open. What’s really going on here? How can we know for sure? Do we even want to know? Well, I do, which is why I’m asking hard questions and digging in deep.

There are many links in this email, but these are just a tiny selection of what’s out there, of what I’ve been processing over the last few weeks. This email is a small collection of resources meant to stimulate thinking. If you are curious, read them. If you are skeptical, read them. Still unsure? Do your own research. Dig deeper. Share. I’d love to know what you think!

In reality, there is more information available than we could process all together in a lifetime. Much of it is conflicting, with doctors, experts, and statistics raging against each other. Who are we to believe? To be sure, selection bias and cognitive dissonance abound. What we need now is discernment. Critical thinking is a must. Wishful thinking and looking the other way will only welcome the noose around our necks… and I say that having been an optimist through and through since the day I was born.

This email sets the context for what I believe is the most pressing concern. Due to length, I’ve decided to divide this message into two parts. If any of this rings true and you think someone else would benefit from reading it, please share. If you have questions, please ask. If you feel inclined to share a different perspective, please do.

With that said, I’ll move to part two.