And Just Like That, The Culture Changed

I’ve heard some people compare the existence of the TSA (I used this erroneously for a while) to mask wearing, social distancing and lock downs as proof that the people will accept changes that are clearly theater and inconveniences when they are in fear. The problem with that is the average person may only fly once or twice a year. These are “periodic” inconveniences. People like myself who fly often just get TSA pre-check or CLEAR to avoid the indignity of having to deal with the McDonald’s workers “employed” to keep the skies “safe.” But masks, social distancing and lock downs are every day. Some states even want you to wear masks and social distance in your homes. Clearly Americans no longer have a line in the sand.

Back in March I saw this coming and started podcasting about it. By mid-April I said that masks were going to be here until at least July. People said I was crazy. No, I just miscalculated. I had all but forgotten about social distancing as the local grocery store I go to didn’t have signs until very recently. But this is going away after the election, right? And now there is talk of not only more state lock downs but national mandates on all of this. What happened?

What happened was that we found out just how malleable people are when they are in fear. Sure, to some people this is political. But when you see people alone in their cars wearing masks, waiting for you to walk well past their vehicle when they’re waiting to get out in the supermarket parking lot, you realize how real the fear is to them. Those aren’t “Biden democrats,” they’re possessed with anxiety.

For decades the powers that be have sought to figure out how to get the majority of us under their thumb when it comes to our day-to-day lives; to control every aspect of our existence. It took a virus folks. A virus. Now ponder what your neighbors would’ve allowed if this thing was actually as bad as the initial models predicted. Please think hard on that.