Day 48: Of the liberties you have known all of your life, how much of them are you willing to surrender for the promise of safety and security?

^{Based on Image Source: Creator ThePixelman on Pixabay}

Note well, dear reader, I have said promise, while we are all living through the unfolding drama of the world's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the "reality check" of the gap between what was promised and what has already and will be delivered.

Is there any more important question than asking what the truth is about what COVID-19 represents? Isn't knowing the truth about any issue you face the first step to resolution and getting it behind you? If so, how on earth do you know what the truth is, in this crazy world of ours?

In this post, I will start there ...

Search for the

Truth!

In @roleerob's typical "black and white" fashion, I will tackle this by stating what is obvious to me. There are two very distinctly different responses to whatever you believe about the following statement:

COVID-19 is an
apocalyptic scourge threatening
the globe with a catastrophic loss of life!

Is it True? Or, is it False? In this post, whichever response "works best" for you, I will argue neither of them can justify what the global response has been!

________________________

False: It's a "___"!

Pick whatever noun you may wish, to fill in the blank, and focus on the first word. Given how COVID-19 has been portrayed to us (at least here in America), from the outset, how can anyone possibly question whether the statement above is false?

Well, dear reader, let's see ...

• March 13th: Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg asks some hard questions about COVID-19:
  

  

  ^{Source: YouTube video on "COVID-19"}

• Related to the above, numerous reports, e.g. here, here, and here, suggest a far higher rate of COVID-19 infection than first reported.

In addition, there is a medically rigorous, well-established approach to determining cause of death. There have been questions raised whether COVID-19 death reporting is violating this standard. Based upon whether the mortality was due to COVID-19 or with COVID-19.

This information, as well as other similar reports, if there is any credibility in it, leads to the all-important mortality rate for COVID-19 being far lower than what was originally projected.

Which, in turn, was used to "stampede" everyone into the box in which we now find ourselves.

Stating the obvious, if the correct response is "False!," then the world "has been played" on a scale that is "unprecedented" (there is that "word of choice" again!) in human history. If so, how did we end up with this outcome? And why?

________________________

☠ True: It's War! ☠

There is no reason to document this, as it is the "approved" (see more on that below ...) message to which we have all been subjected from the beginning. We are at "war' with an "invisible enemy" and, therefore, war-time decision making is called for in response.

^{Source: Creator Alexandra_Koch on Pixabay}

As I have already written about more extensively, in my previous COVID-19 posts, there is little which has greater power, in the "arsenal" of options of motivating people to "move," than fear. The ultimate fear being the fear of death.

^{Source: Creator Fotomen on Gallery.World}

Would anyone care to argue against that being the driving force behind the unprecedented response of the world to this pandemic? Assuming we can be in agreement on this critical point, dear reader, we have then before us the question of whether our collective national responses can be justified.

On the promise of ... What? At no time in history, faced with actual war, have men (collectively) been told to go home and not come out to meet the threat to themselves and their families. No, the "war is hell" reality was unavoidable and men got through it, in whatever way seemed best to them. As they have from the beginning of time ...

________________________

So ... Whether the statement above is true or false, is misleading. Based upon a potentially false question which I am arguing is built upon what is certainly a false premise. Succinctly stated, that premise being we have a viable alternative to working through the effects of this pandemic, to the best of our collective abilities.

No, we do not. The consequences on all of us, of believing otherwise, while some of us are dealing with actually being infected with COVID-19, are still in only the very early stages of arriving. And they are already being compared with some of the greatest modern calamities we (collectively) have experienced in relatively recent history, e.g. the Great Depression. And, in some reporting, already exceeding even those comparisons, as we head in to the unknown ...

Losses Continue to Mount

Whatever your perspective may be on the section above, dear reader, would anyone want to argue that the staggering losses continue to mount? While "high over our heads" the debate continues on what our future is to be?

Here is a brief update:

• Oil Prices Collapse to Less Than $0.00:
  



^{Source: Houston Chronicle article on "U.S. oil price collapses to less than $0 as storage fills up in coronavirus pandemic"}



^{Source: Bloomberg article on "Oil Plunges Below Zero for First Time in Unprecedented Wipeout"}

The associated "geopolitics" of the impact to this vital industry have covered everything from facing down perceived threats from Russia and Saudi Arabia, to promises of trillions of $$ more in aid ...

The details remind me of my years in the mining industry where I learned these massive enterprises can find themselves in the horrible position of losing less money, by continuing to operate at a loss, than by shutting down. How long can that go on?


• Largest Pork Plant in the U.S. Closes Indefinitely:
  



^{Source: Associated Press article on "Tyson Foods idles largest pork plant as virus slams industry"}

• In an open letter, Tyson Foods Chairman of the Board, John Tyson, sounded the alarm - "The food supply chain is breaking."
  
  The most sobering part? "Millions of animals – chickens, pigs and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities." How long would it take for us to recover from this consequence?
  
  Spoken by a food industry "insider," you might consider reading what he has to say.
  
  
• Unemployment Soars Past 20% 23% - Now at 26.5 30 Million Jobs Lost. We are approaching the peak of the Great Depression:
  



^{Source: Fortune article on "The latest round of unemployment claims puts real jobless rate near Great Depression peak"}

In the article, it is stated even these staggering numbers are likely low due to people maybe "... not showing up in initial claims because they haven't been processed yet because of state backlogs."


• Trump Signs $484 Billion Measure to Aid Employers, Hospitals:
  



^{Source: Associated Press article on "Trump signs $484 billion measure to aid employers, hospitals"}

Against the backdrop of increasingly louder and more urgent calls for "help," Congress is currently in recess, arguing about how "safe" it is for these elderly folks to even show up to do their jobs ...

And, when they return to "work," then amongst all the cries for help, deciding whether states filing for bankruptcy is permissible and whether their financial straits are purely COVID-19 based vs. historically intransigent problems like systemically underfunded pension plans. And the inescapable "Red State" vs. "Blue State" comparisons ...


• What @roleerob's family sees, when checking on the status of the promised "helicopter money Families First Coronavirus Response Act" funds, supposedly to arrive by April 6th ...

  

  ^{Source: IRS website for "Get My Payment" checks by American citizens.}

These are just from these last few days, dear reader. I could easily list more, from the COVID-19 "tsunami" of information in which we are all swimming. Like all of the references to the shrinking GDPs (think goods produced!) of nations all over the world.

But you get the idea ...

The foundational argument I have been making, since day one, is the madness of pretending like we can print endless amounts of ever more worthless money, is only the beginning. The supply chain disruptions, on a magnitude never before experienced, cannot be solved with simply printing more money!

Rationing of shrinking supplies of whatever it is you might need (food?) are already showing up. Along price "controls" being discussed on these shrinking supplies ... Reports of "heroism" and "villains," in the face of these consequences, are already here. Designed to ensure you are deceived informed on what you are expected to "think" about this, in the "right" way ...

Get ready for a steady diet of more of the same. With a growing emphasis on "sacrifice" (of the heroic variety, of course ...) while minimizing an inevitable related word. Suffering ...

In the face of these growing unintended (?) consequences, we can expect to be reintroduced to the reality of "desperate people in desperate situations do desperate things". All over the world, we will all find out what additional "unprecedented" measures are being prepared and will be implemented, in an attempt to contain this reality.

________________________

In the toxic brew of consequences we find ourselves in, as this "perfect storm" rolls along, there is little I despise more than the political environment we find ourselves in here in America.

Very sadly, since we (collectively) have repeatedly demonstrated we are not voluntarily going to do anything about it, we will suffer through the endless "back and forth" between both sides, aided and abetted by a "free press."

Heading into an election in November to "freely" determine our future "fearless leaders" ...

The "New Normal?"

In the midst of this "slow moving hurricane," there is a steady reference to a "new normal" in this "post-COVID" world. What will be some of its "gateway" features?

Well, how about, before returning to work, dealing with a new version of "guilty until proven innocent" (an inversion of the cornerstone of our justice system ...) all the way to "safe" entertainment:

• Documentation Papers! Certificates of Immunity ...
  

  

  ^{Source: Rolling Stone article on Could COVID-19 Immunity Certificates Help Reopen America — Or Create More Class Divide?"}

  Can we even begin to imagine all of the new layers of bureaucracy required, by this serious proposal under our "new normal" circumstances? Resulting in staggering new costs and an inevitable whole new layer of determining "winners" and "losers" ...
  
  
• We must ensure compliance, right? Contact tracing to the rescue!
  

  

  ^{Source: How-To Geek article on "What Is Contact Tracing, and How Can It Fight Pandemics?"}

  Yes, of course our privacy is an important right. Until it is overridden, by our "new normal" circumstances ...
  
  
• In the midst of far more serious issues, how important is our beloved entertainment? Well, the "show must go on," right? How does without fans sound?
  

  

  ^{Source: Forbes article on "MLB, Union Must Agree On Player Pay If Games Start Without Fans"}

  Yes, that is very seriously being discussed. Just as soon as it can be determined what those "services" will be worth, under our "new normal" circumstances ...
  
  

Early on, I noted how docilely "we the sheeple" were responding to being told to just go home and not come out, until the coast was clear, i.e. to being "locked down" ...

With the growing "reality check" of what the unintended (?) consequences of these "guidelines" are on people and their families, how about now?

• Consequences: In an effort to survive, but with the fear of what COVID-19 represents relentlessly driving us, what else do businesses face, which put their employees back to work? The risk of lawsuits!
  

  

  ^{Source: Law.com Daily Report article on "Lawsuits Loom Over COVID-19 Exposure As Businesses Reopen Around the U.S."}

  Yes, that's right. America has the dubious distinction of leading the world as the most litigious on earth. Wonderful. "Can't let a good crisis go to waste ..."
  
  
• Consequences: Political courage? Or suicide? Georgia's governor Kemp moves ahead - " Georgia businesses reopen cautiously amid coronavirus worry" - of the nation's "safe guidelines" ...


• Consequences: Response of a local police department - "Chesterfield agrees to cut police pay 10% to avoid furloughs".


• Disobedience: Anti-lockdown protests, some armed, grow about "overreach" of state directives - " Armed protesters demonstrate against Covid-19 lockdown at Michigan capitol".


• Disobedience: Refusal of a local sheriff - "'Constitutionalist sheriffs' won't enforce coronavirus restrictions" to enforce the "decree" of a Washington state's governor, saying it violates the U.S. Constitution.


• Limit of Power: The top law enforcement official in America weighs in - "'Constitution Isn’t Suspended' for COVID-19, Attorney General Barr Warns Public Officials" - on the Constitutional rights of every American citizen. Following his memo titled - " Balancing Public Safety with the Preservation of Civil Rights".

Again, many, many other examples could be provided. And this is just what is happening here in America. Since most nations in the world have chosen to follow a similar "plan of attack" against this "invisible enemy," they each have their own version of the growing "reality check" of how that is working for their people.

If we (collectively) were allowed to all go back to our "normal" lives tomorrow, I am not wise enough to know what the final costs of all we have been subjected to would total up to be. However, we are not being allowed to go back. The original two-week projection is now ending on week 7.

Current projections are out into early June. Unlike previous projections, these will surely hold up, right?

________________________

Does a little humor help to make all / any of this more palatable?

^{Source: Creator Cartoosh on Wikipedia Commons}

For me, dear reader, while I typically try to provide a few bits of lighter content in my posts, it is very challenging at the moment. This cartoon pokes a little light-hearted fun at the truth of this time in our collective history.

"Not to worry," the "Almighty" State and its "fearless leaders" are promising they will take care of you. All while slowly unveiling the "new normal" living in our "post COVID-19" world.

^{Source: Creator KELLEPICS on Pixabay}

What will it be like in this wonderful "new" world, in which we will all be living? Okay, maybe we will have experienced a considerable loss of the freedoms we once enjoyed. But ... "It will be worth it" since we will at least be "safe and secure," right?

After all, to justify what has been done, is that not what we have been promised?

________________________

In the midst of this nightmare, dear reader, have you ever wondered “behind the curtain” who / what has the power to determine what is on the “approved” list? Then delegated to “approved” groups to disseminate to the masses, of what is “acceptable?”

If "we the people" then “walk, talk, and act” in alignment with is what "acceptable?" “Good!” And “safe” … But conduct yourself otherwise? “Bad!” And “not safe” …

Which category do think @roleerob falls into? In his search for the truth ...

Closing

Coming to the end of Day 48 / Week 7 (anyone remembering this was initially going to be for 2 weeks?) of the "lock down" of America, with current calls for this "unprecedented" response to COVID-19 to extend in to early June, how am I feeling? With a growing sense of foreboding about what is coming. Which I deeply suspect will have a lot of "surprises" for us all, when we compare what has been delivered with what was promised.

With alarming speed, we were "stampeded over a cliff" all over the world, in response to COVID-19. In "free fall," we can now perhaps see a little more clearly the impact awaiting us at the bottom. Before hitting it, do you still see the promised "social safety net?" If so, what has it cost you and everyone around you?

When the fateful day of impact arrives, dear reader, and we have a much clearer picture on how this has "played out," what will be left of the freedoms we once took for granted? Whatever the answer, do not let this simple truth evade you. We are not suffering at the hands of some formidable adversary who has imposed their malign will on us by force.

No ...

We voluntarily did this
to ourselves!

I have been saying more or less the same thing since day one. For a number of reasons, the simplest being never in history has what we've all experienced been the reaction to threats of this type. Why now? To what end?

For my family and our future, I have very sobering concerns about the answers ...

As I often say, I would love to be proven wrong. We will all find out soon enough. While we wait, I’d love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide.

Respectfully,
Steemian @roleerob

________________________

P.S. I have removed the "Personal Impact" section found in my previous COVID-19 posts. I no longer care to have those details "immutably enshrined" on this or any blockchain. Just at a high level, I will say we are fine health-wise. Our financial losses, both personally and as a family, however, are considerable. And growing ...

How many of you would say more or less the same thing?

________________________

Posted using SteemPeak and “immutably enshrined” in the Steem blockchain on Friday, 1 May 2020!

Interested in reading more of my related posts?

Lead Image	Title, Link, & Summary
	Day 1: COVID-19: Out of the News, Into our Lives at Home ... Summary: With alarming speed, COVID-19, went from the news in China to a pandemic here at home. What are the implications of our response to it? ● Impact at Home ● Question of "Proportionality" ● Unprecedented Disruption ● Unintended (?) Consequences
	Day 6: COVID-19: Pandemic Defense and "Helicopter Money" Summary: How many times can a writer use the word unprecedented? Covers trillions of $$$s promised, up to and including "helicopter money!" ● Manna from Heaven ● Off to War! ● "Too big too fail!" Right? ● "Financial Distancing"
	Day 9: COVID-19: Gathering Storm of Looming Financial "Armageddon" Summary: On Day 9, under a scenario described as a Perfect Storm, covers "unprecedented" consequences of the actions of the "Almighty" State. ● War and "Collateral Damage" ● Personal Impact
	Day 34: COVID-19: "Post-COVID World," Losses Mount, and now "Phase Four?" Summary: With the growing references to a ""new normal" in a "post-COVID" world, looked at the growing consequences of "what we did to ourselves." ● Financial Consequences ● Supply Chain Consequences ● Global Consequences ● Personal Impact

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