#WUHAN – Americans And The Price You Pay

Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay

That seems to apply to most Americans, who are asleep at the wheel.

Prudence should guide us.] here.  We’re Americans — we should be able to exercise the Discernment needed to see us through this Crisis without allowing the further Restricting of our Freedoms, without allowing the turning of our Ordered Liberty into Authoritarian Liberty.

…Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed…

What we’re seeing happening in America is an effort to acclimatize us to such Anti-Constitutional actions, such as Shelter-In-Place and the forced closing of smaller businesses that cannot withstand such orders for long.

‘Ah!’, says the government, ‘We will bail you businessmen out [along, of course, with the Crony Big Businesses — aka: the Corporatists] and, therefore, we will be your Saviors!!!‘  This will come with a heavy price: a Precedent will have been set, further and Mightily Strengthening what began in 2008 under Bush II and, most especially, under Barackus Obamacus Nero [GM — more Government Motors, anyone?].  That smell in the air is Fascism Unleashed.

I spent the past weeks witnessing a vast, vast majority of Americans ‘disposed to suffer’ under Edicts being Promulgated be governments at all levels.  While come involved in these actions maybe doing so out of the best of intentions, they will soon fined they set in motion Dangerous Precedents.

‘…a fearful people is a people easily subjugated.’  —Francis Porretto via Gerard Van der Leun

There’s a price we pay for living in a Society with Freedom And Ordered Liberty.  I say this as someone who has a Compromised Immune System: our governments are, in a sense, enjoying this crisis too much and I’ll take my chances being Free.

The Power and Control being used on us now is Repugnant, is Despotic.  It is further wearing-down our Resistance to Tyranny.  Slumbering now is not an option.

I’m gladdened by the fact that, in the past day or so, I’m hearing more and more voices standing athwart The Pandemic Governmental Complex yelling ‘STOP!’

Bud Hammons:

The coronavirus isn’t Communism, but it has created social, political, and economic conditions similar to that of Communism, with an authoritarian state, a frightened populace, and resource shortages.

The ‘play-up’ by the governments and their allies in The Media is, and has been, slowly injecting the American People with the Fear/Panic Virus.

Get people used to a situation and soon they will not notice it.  This is a variant of The Big Lie.

This Softening makes one more Susceptible to Meekly Accepting Despotism.

A Very Good Friend-In-The-Ether wrote this:

I am seeing posts about what movies or shows to watch and what games to play; that is nice, but this “lockdown” is not a staycation. It is a devastating economic situation. Individuals, families, and small businesses did not save for years to be forced out of business or into the unemployment line (if they can even collect unemployment) due to a virus.

For those that draw a salary from a government or corporate entity please know that this is a devastating blow for entrepreneurs, self-employed, and small businesses. Small businesses plans for hard times, but the hard times usually are visible over time, not in the matter of two weeks with no way to control the destiny or make adjustments for the hard time.

I have been a small business owner for 22 years in a seasonal area. This has taught me a lot about seasonal downturn and planning. I can completely understand that businesses will be devastated by being blind-sided by this. Some may not recover and that is very sad. It is extremely hard to make up a month of losses quickly, and many with employees may have to train new people so getting back to work will be a challenge.

Most Americans want to work, be productive, and to socialize. This lockdown is devastating.

My personal cleaning person of ten years is a perfect example; she is self-employed and hustles to work. She went from full capacity to 10% capacity scrambling to figure out how to financially manage the crisis.

As a regular dining out couple, my husband I don’t dine out for just the food. We dine out for the socialization, atmosphere, and the time to relax. So the idea of just picking up a take-out meal doesn’t have much appeal to us, and I assume many others. We know many restaurant bartenders and servers by name and feel worried for them during this time because they work hard and may also be scrambling to make ends meet.

American needs to get back to business, perhaps not as usual, but with the freedom to move about the country as we want. New precautions and protocols should be in place, but we need to get back to our lives. There needs to be a discussion on how we can go about our working and social lives with the plan to keep people safe and healthy.

I don’t want to hear any hateful responses. This is not a political statement. I am a person that believes in liberty and freedom. I am not feeling either of those right now.

Dead Solid Perfect.

Forcing us into Tribal Isolation makes us more Susceptible, more Pliant.

Checks from the government will only make us loose more of our Independence.

There are other ways for these newly-created burdens to be eased.

From Susan:

When the Corona Virus finally exhausts itself and the danger is over, let’s do something good for our country.
Let’s spend our vacation in the USA, eat in local restaurants, buy american products, buy local meats and veggies and support local businesses. These businesses are going to find it very difficult to get back on their feet and survive without our help. They’re suffering badly now.

Our products are some of the best in the world. This country is one of the most beautiful.

Time to ratchet-up our Resistance.

OUTLAW.

Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can’t walk away from the price you pay

Now they’d come so far and they’d waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of day
And you’ve gotta stand and fight for the price you pay

—Bruce Springsteen

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