I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I typically scoff at the theories and those who spread them. I’m not a scientist. I’m not a professional of any sort. I’m a Christian, a mother, a wife, a home educator (before home education became mandatory), a musician and an American. I’m also a human being able to think for myself.
I have spent the past month or so in awe of what I see going on around me: fear, distrust, sickness, death. I know that pandemics are serious. I know that pandemics have happened in the past and eventually things returned to a state of normal. I have been willing to give those in power the benefit of the doubt that they are making the best decisions they, with their limited knowledge of the virus and of the future, can make. But lately I’ve been noticing some of our politicians (local, state and national) engaging in demands that exceed the power they were given when elected. I have to admit that reading Animal Farm by George Orwell the past couple of weeks with my high school son has made me think a little deeper about some of these demands. Interesting that the reading of Animal Farm as part of his literature course coincided with the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order.
Here’s my problem. I can’t get the picture of all the people with their masks on out of my mind. The people have voluntarily stayed home with no connection with the outside world except what social media and the networks present. They have voluntarily stopped working, destroying their personal economy as well as the economy of the nation making them more dependent on the government. They have voluntarily stayed 6 feet away from each other and now they are wearing masks to cover their nose and mouth. It reminds me of cases where people are being interrogated for a crime — separate the accused so they can’t communicate with each other. It reminds me of cases of people being detained against their will (not through our legal system) whose hands are tied behind their backs and tape put over their mouths to physically control their behavior and their voice.
In the name of staying “safe” we have, as a nation, given up our freedom to assemble, freedom to pursue happiness, freedom of speech. We are told to gather in groups of no more than 10, stay 6 feet away from each other and wear masks. Have you noticed that it is hard to get someone to look you in the eye at the grocery store? Have you discovered how difficult it is to have a meaningful discussion with someone 6 feet away? Have you discovered how hard it is to really understand what someone is saying when all you see are their eyes? Or how hard it can even be to hear them through their mask? It’s easier just to put your head down and walk on by. Nothing to see, nothing to say, just doing what I’m told.
The very first amendment of our constitution says that we have the freedom to worship, or not, how we choose. That we have the right to free speech. That we have the right to assemble. What have we been told to stop doing? Assemble for any reason including worshiping God. And, by the way, cover your mouth so you feel disconnected enough from your fellow man that you don’t engage in meaningful discussions about what you really think.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Folks, we have successfully been silenced. I can’t say that this was the original intent. I don’t understand all of the whys or whodunnits of this but I can see that we have been lead, like the animals in Animal Farm, to give up our freedoms. Just as the initial events that lead to the pigs rising up on two legs started as a united effort of all the animals to better their lives, we have united to do something (flatten the curve) together and are ending up being told where to go, what to wear and who to talk to. Just as the 7 laws that were originally written in white on the barn wall in Animal Farm were slowly changed by just a word or two, the appeal to “Stay Safe, Stay Home” has turned into “Stay Safe, Stay Home, Stay Quiet, Stay Isolated, Stay Focused On The Government”. As we allow those we have elected to dictate more and more of our daily lives, we see that George Orwell was right, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Diana Dow
Yes, I keep thinking that this is a drill to see holes where people won’t comply.
I don’t understand why people wear masks while exercising and in their own cars! That is crazy. We need oxygen, not carbon dioxide. We were able to grocery shop without masks until last week. Now I’m forced to wear something, so I chose a sheer scarf that doesn’t inhibit my oxygen. I use Velcro to adjust behind my head.
A nearby city is rebelling, and I’m thankful. It is ridiculous to say a job is nonessential. I hope all governors who overstepped our constitutional rights will be voted out. Tickets for sitting in a car watching the sunset. Ridiculous.