A Requiem on Facts
If you’ve ever heard me share my “origin story” you know that it’s a pretty common story for many. I was watching a 2007 presidential debate and this guy I had never heard of before, in the middle of the “War on Terror,” states plainly that the reason the terrorists hate America is because “our” government is over there and has been bombing them for decades. And this was in the middle of the “War on Terror.” Every candidate on the stage took umbrage with that and “Mayor 9/11,” Rudy Giuliani. went so far as to demand this heretic take it back. The man who was brave enough to make that statement, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, said that even the CIA agreed and used the term “blowback” to describe the phenomena. That FACT was ignored but Congressman Paul stuck to his guns. That wasn’t the first time I noticed politicians, rulers, and/or experts making up their own “facts” but having these “leaders” blatantly ignore the truth on a national stage was such a pivotal moment in my life that it stuck with me. Now I see this ignorance several times a day. It is the default.
In March of this year, 2020, it was clear to me that the overwhelming majority of the American public’s response to the government mandates in relation to Covid 19 was, “tyranny accepted.” After March 15th most of the world was on “house arrest.” Prior to this, in December 2019 and January 2020, I had done episodes with Mises.org editor Ryan McMaken in which we highlighted the decentralized canton system of Switzerland as the model of liberty for the future. I put out an announcement on Twitter that if anyone following me lived in Switzerland I wanted to talk to them about that structure and what daily life was like. On March 19th I spoke to a listener who lives in Zurich and he informed me that the COUNTRY was on a hard lockdown from March 17th through April 17th. So much for my “utopia” of decentralization within a country.
On March 27th, a few days before I heard the term used in public, I referred to CV19 as the “Invisible Enemy” on an episode of my podcast with Vin Armani. At that point I started comparing the government’s response to that of 9/11 and stated that CV19 would be more damaging to individual liberty, and the culture in general. Almost ten months later most people agree.
Sticking with comments made on that March 27th episode, Vin and I talked about how the corporate media was filled with “reports” of asymptomatic “super-spreaders” and that they were the biggest threat to the public. I read that message as “your neighbor may show no signs of being sick BUT it’s better to be SAFE.” “Safety” would become the word “de l’année.” Those of us who asked for evidence of these “typhoid Marys” were met with accusations of “science denial,” a term easily co-opted from the “climate change” cult.
At this point, information that would turn out to be complete bunk was becoming so “viral” so fast, it was obvious that even local and state politicians found themselves “reacting.” I mentioned in the article I wrote, “I Made A Lot of Mistakes This Year,” that most of these mistakes were committed while reacting to information. All of this misinformation released to the public at once gave birth to the “Karen Meme.” People became snitches. Factions were created. People’s attitude towards the government’s mandates in relation to the virus seemed to be drawn down party lives. The Karen Meme soon burned out as it became the norm and not the outlier. Memes BECAME reality. It was at this time I started to notice apathy and defeat in people’s language and actions. It happened very quickly. The language that was being used was bleak.
Time Stands Still
One thing that became clear to me then was that the information zeitgeist was being bombarded with memetics. Long-term individual unemployment was being spoken of casually in the corporate media. The term “essential worker” was not yet viewed as a slur to most and the fact that liquor store employees were included in that group was yet to be questioned. This new paradigm was still very new and people seemed to be punch-drunk by what was happening. Taking into consideration everything I was absorbing; I began to talk about how this was going to be the perfect opportunity for a trial run on Universal Basic Income. When examining long-term unemployment combined with a society 2 paychecks from being homeless, it just made sense UBI would be rolled out as at least a temporary measure.
Recognizing that we were in the midst of a “health crisis,” I imagined I was someone who wanted to implement single-payer healthcare. As with UBI, I couldn’t envision a more opportune time and am honestly floored a real push hasn’t been made on that front. With an incoming left of center neo-liberal White House, I believe those cards are now fully on the table and the deck may be stacked.
Returning to people’s reactions at the end of March, it appeared to me that people were in denial and may have advanced all the way to the “acceptance” stage in a matter of a few weeks. There was not a protest to be found. Most people had become docile prisoners in their own homes. The right to “free speech” AND “assembly” were under attack yet, with the exception of a rare few, no one was asking whether this was helpful, or more importantly, how harmful this was going to be.
Another phenomena people have forgotten was time appeared to stand still. But was it that? Or was it enormous changes happening in such a short period of time that it felt as such? People were discovering a routine in which the only constant was “sheltering in place” and other actions dressed in dystopian language. The idea of the “panopticon,” where everyone has to be in a position to be monitored was something I mentioned often. Remember, anyone could be infected. We were experiencing our own version of the Salem With Trials except it was the “invisible demon” that could attack at any time. Whenever I looked at Anthony Fauci, I imagined Cotton Mather.
The ‘High Priests’ Enter the Game
I previously mentioned the idea of the panopticon; a prison in which the jailers can see every corner of the structure but prisoners only get a piece of the picture. By the end of March to the middle of April, it became clear to me, and others who may not have recognized it in the past, that we were finally getting the “police state” many of us had been warning of. The veil was lifted and the coming riots – more to be said on that later – helped the scales to finally fall off many an authority-worshiper’s eyes. When Victor Orban declared one man rule in Hungary around this time my Spidey-senses” began to go haywire. I couldn’t help but think that if that happened here, most of the West would be lost, as well as the Far East.
The myth of “tragedy brings people of differing political opinions together” was shattered right from the start of the government’s response. After 9/11 it lasted roughly a week, which was shocking. No such reprieve was found in this “crisis.” If there is anyone left who believes there is one united culture in this society after witnessing 2020, they’re beyond hope. We are a house divided and we will not stand. The sooner people embrace this, the faster we can start embracing alternatives.
It was in the middle to the end of April when mandatory vaccinations and tracking (tracing) entered into the daily conversation. “It’s the only way we can get back to normal” was the message. Many people were genuinely excited about the prospects of a vaccine. Contact tracing software started showing up on people’s phones. I noticed you could turn off the notifications, but not the software.
At this point I started saying that science and medicine were dead. Everything coming from the “experts” in “the Cathedral” were obvious guesses, but these “chosen ones” were not to be questioned. They had achieved “High Priest” status and only they had the ability to interpret these events. “Only our priests speak the truth, the heretics on YouTube must be excommunicated.” This was when my friend Vin Armani started to say we had entered “The Dim Age.” It was a perfect descriptor to me as my maternal grandmother would call people she didn’t consider to be of even average intelligence, dim. It resonated and still does.
Technocracy became unstoppable. They had their “experts” in place as the “Holy” class, the software to surveil us, and the police to enforce it. And the people weren’t noticing. Most still don’t, even ones who claim to be about liberty. Instantaneous global communication enables all of this. One may ask, “where is the grand puppeteer?” Where indeed?!
The Exodus Begins
Again, where is the “Grand Puppeteer?” So much of what we saw in response to Covid 19 seemed planned (yes, I know, Event 201). But there were “symptoms” that few could’ve predicted.
In April, we saw de facto borders return to the European Union. The EU was set up to remove boundaries between countries but the response of the participating governments reversed that. In the United States, Florida set up check points at its northern border to stop people from New York and Louisiana from entering. Mises.org editor Ryan McMaken received flak for an article he had written prior to this explaining why open borders between the states may be a bad idea. I had him on my podcast after the Florida Border incident to chuckle at his prescience. That individual states were handling the “pandemic” differently had to make hardcore federalists laugh.
The concept of the “Covid-Exodus” started to become a reality. Still in April, my friend Vin Armani abandoned California for Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. I began receiving reports out of NYC of masses of people moving out. So many were fleeing the city that there were long waiting lists for moving vans. Crossing over into May, the most popular podcaster in the world, Joe Rogan, began openly talking about moving out of California and sans hyperbole began referring to its Governor, Gavin Newsom, as a dictator. When people start uprooting, one must consider that others will finally begin to see the rise in totalitarianism. A noticeable problem is that most of the people from the last generation able to recognize this rise in totalitarianism have died off. There are very few still alive who can see the warning signs. To quote Plato:
“The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness…This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears, he is a protector.”
Those of us who point out growing tyranny, or the State’s crimes, are often told by those who call themselves “patriots” that if we don’t like it, we should just leave the country. By May that option, for the most part, had been taken away from us. But as bad as 2020 had been up to that point, it would only get worse when a video was released showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of a man named George Floyd for eight minutes and forty-six seconds, at the end of which, Mr Floyd’s life had expired.
‘I Predict a Riot’
In the last week of May 2020, if I had gone in for a diagnosis, I probably would’ve had some form of mild PTSD. The government restrictions due to COVID 19, combined with the culture’s mindless adoption of every one of their baseless recommendations, was making me crazy. Then the George Floyd incident happened in Minneapolis. As someone who has been podcasting and writing about the abuses by police for years, watching that video barely elicited an emotion from me. I was inured to it by that point. However, the majority of the public wasn’t. Sure, there were the typical opportunists who secretly celebrated incidents like Floyd’s in order to push their agenda and grift, but the general public didn’t. Even conservatives were alarmed. Their alarm didn’t last long.
The day the Floyd video was released “protests” started in Minneapolis. A police precinct was abandoned by the State’s “security force” as “protesters” set it ablaze. Multiple fires were reported. The “protests” then took a typical turn. Many in the streets set their sights on private businesses and even individuals. Any hope that the general public, which is normally supportive of law enforcement, would continue in their newfound suspicion of the police was abandoned. People fear a mob more than they fear the State. And at this point it was understandable as many police were ordered to stand down by local politicians.
Over the following week the protests spread to multiple cities. The violence against businesses and persons continued. Most local politicians excused it. The corporate media ignored it. It appeared we had entered a new paradigm where street violence was the norm. In Seattle, local politicians allowed the CHAZ/CHOP autonomous zone to be created and remain untouched. News out of Portland painted war in the streets as soon as the sun would set in the evening. It was chaos in many locales. And it was being normalized. Many celebrities set up bail funds for the rioters. Again, politicians along with their comrades in the media and Hollywood were intent on making this into that dreaded phrase, “The New Normal.” CNN ran a chyron under a reporter who was on-scene with a city burning behind him that said that the protests were “mostly peaceful.”
There was no question in my mind what was happening here. When you combined the government’s draconian response to Covid 19 with their lax response to cities on fire, it was clear the powers that be wanted people completely off balance and ready and willing to accept whatever came their way, whether it was being locked in your house for months or having your business burned down to only receive the canned response of, “they have insurance, stop complaining.” The government declared war on its people in 2020 and most didn’t recognize it.
This is the Most Important Election… Yada, Yada
I will get into the election, but first I believe it’s important to tie everything so far together as it sets the stage for what occurred during the election. I hold the opinion that the riots in the wake of the George Floyd incident would not have been as severe if the government hadn’t put the majority of the population on house arrest for the previous 2.5 months. Combine the riots, skyrocketing unemployment, induced fear of a virus, and another 5 months of lockdowns with the fact 2020 was a national election year, one that was destined to be contentious, it was like pouring gasoline onto a fire that had been ignited by gunpowder.
When looking back at the election, the best place to start is with the Corporate Press (CP). I find it impossible to believe there is anyone left in this society who doesn’t recognize that the CP was largely in the bag for the democrats. Hell, even FOX News, the supposed bastion of the Right, called the race for Biden long before you would’ve expected them to. And if you wanted to look into the background of the candidates? Forget it – move along, nothing to see here. According to the CP, Hunter Biden’s laptop either didn’t exist, or was a Russian plant. Seriously, I think people have forgotten that “Russia,” was invoked yet again. When it came to light that the FBI had been investigating Hunter Biden as early as 2018 for his dealings in China, it was barely a blip on the CP’s radar.
As we saw, the “mail-in votes” swung the election. Sure, many have criticized Trump for telling his supporters to avoid mail-in voting, but is there anyone out there who wants to make the argument that each of the reported 26,600,000 votes made by mail had the required signature verifications made in only 48 hours? Does that seem realistic? So, when you have a good percentage of the 75,000,000 people who voted for Trump claiming the election was stolen from them, can you honestly blame them? If you were playing football and you looked up at the scoreboard and suddenly there were 42 points unaccounted for on the board, you would probably cry foul. That so many people can’t accept this as even a possibility, or see the point of view of those who believe they’ve been wronged, is incredible.
The veil has been ripped off “The Cathedral” by those residing in it, yet many still don’t notice. We are truly living in the aforementioned “Dim Age,” where “facts and logic” are no longer viable weapons. Now it is only the narrative that matters. And those who control the narrative, control the people.
‘Don’t Question the Experts!’
By February/early-March, I began using the Hayekian term scientism on a regular basis. It was obvious from the start that the State’s preferred scientists were merely guessing (very poorly) when it came to what the public should be doing to protect itself from the virus. I knew they had crossed over from science to religion when doctors presenting alternatives were silenced. Priests of old were seen by the devout as everything from politicians to doctors. The modern-day version of that is the State-approved scientist. White coats have replaced priestly frocks and their recommendations from on high are wrought with just as many appeals to “faith.” Probably the most damning evidence against the “Medical Industrial Cathedral,” was their declaring Hydroxychloroquine anathema after Trump mentioned it as a potential treatment. From that moment on it appeared that every recommendation was coming straight from the pulpit with those who disagreed treated as heretics to be burned at the stake.
Scientism transitions into the concept of “technocracy” with ease. The best “normie” definition I could find for technocracy is: “the government or control of society or industry by an elite of technical experts.” Whereas many may view this concept as appealing, when you take into consideration the “experts” the government forced upon the public in response to CV19, you start to realize the “expert” part of that definition isn’t their main priority. In my opinion, the public VIEWING them as experts is more important to the powers that be than their ability to actually solve a crisis. Their being able to present themselves as learned and credible is what appears to be of use to the elites. I hope the reader is able to recognize the incredible danger in having a class of “experts” who it is forbidden to question. And I would especially hope the “libertarian” would see this as an assault on the “market of ideas” and, worst of all, a limiting of choices.
The questioning of the aforementioned priestly class of experts is verboten. How can you, a mere serf, question them when you do not possess the “secret knowledge?” “How can someone like you begin to understand these mysteries?” “Where is your medical degree from – GOOGLE?!” “Are you questioning the stats and data?” Who do you think you are?!”
I’ll end part 7 with a story I’ve shared on my podcast. When I was preparing for a flight to NYC in September, I received an email from Delta providing detailed information on everything they’re doing to keep me safe (how about not adopting the 737 Max, that would make me feel safe). The email clearly stated that masks slow the spread of CV19 and included two links to the CDC as proof of their claim. The curious fellow I am I decided to click the links. Both links led to pages where the CDC stated they BELIEVE masks help to slow the spread. It appears the “private companies” “libertarians” worship with undying loyalty aren’t above lying to get you to follow the government’s mandates.
Facts and Logic are Dead – Long Live Magic!
When I saw the response by the powers that be to CV19, I determined they were either clueless, or purposefully misleading the public. I quickly realized that both can be true at the same time and that is still my belief. What I wasn’t prepared for was the majority of the public to buy into this charade so quickly. The government presented an ever-changing narrative and the vast majority of people swallowed it whole with no qualms. A narrative is essentially a story which doesn’t have to be true. In the case of how the public accepted the CV19 narrative, it was almost as if by magic. And magic was a big part of my year, and still is.
My closest fellow traveler in 2020 was my friend, Vin Armani. We did several podcasts highlighting and explaining the tyranny we saw the government implementing in the name of CV19. Vin was the first person to mention magic. He noticed people abandoning logic and reason and instead adopting the government “narrative” as their guiding “principle.” Vin quickly surmised that if people were believing in this magic, only better magic could pull them from the thrall of the government narrative. I told him that to do this we needed a better narrative. One that was devoid of logic and reason because we were entering into Vin’s coined phrase, “The Dim Age.” Thus the “magic meme” was born.
Everything became about magic, everything had a magical connotation. When someone brought up in conversation or on social media CV19 vaccines, I referred to it as the magic elixir that would end this demonic attack. If masks were mentioned in a positive way, I talked of their great faith and that totems were part of man’s history. Hand sanitizer became Holy Water. The required six foot perimeter for social distancing was too far for a demon to jump from one human to another. If the narrative is all that matters, and people are performing these rituals “sola fide,” why would I not oblige them by using the language of ritual as well?
It became crystal clear that we were in the “Dim Age” when the riots started after the George Floyd video was released. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets, huddled in masses with few masks, to protest. When people like myself wondered how this “pandemic” was going to be stopped if thousands upon thousands were in the streets screaming to each other in immediate proximity, the “high priests” informed us that the protests were vital and not to worry about the protesters contracting, and spreading, CV19. They were all but declared immune. It was magic. The “Dim Age” was real and the technocrats had this handled. All you had to do was have faith.
We’re All ‘White Supremacists’ Now
So, at this point the protesters and rioters in response to the George Floyd video were magically deemed immune from COVID 19. And it truly was a “selective,” magical immunity for protesters of “institutional racism” because when another group of protesters marched on the Michigan Capitol in early May to decry the stay-at-home orders, they were deemed not immune. In fact, they may as well have been trying to spread the virus on purpose according to the corporate press (CP). These people who only wanted their lives returned were depicted as heathens wanting to “kill your grandma.”
And, of course, because the Michigan protesters were predominantly white, the CP ran with their go-to in the age of Trump – it was all about white supremacy. This was no more evident than when on August 25th in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city that was literally on fire, a 17-year-old kid named Kyle Rittenhouse made the decision to tote an AR-15 with the intent to defend businesses that were in danger of being destroyed by “mostly peaceful” protesters. In a scene of utter chaos (listed on Wikipedia as “unrest”) and under assault from multiple individuals, Rittenhouse ended up killing two of his attackers and wounding a third. How did the CP spin this? As expected, Rittenhouse was a white supremacist who traveled to Kenosha to kill black people. The fact that the three people he shot were all white made no difference. The narrative is supreme and if the CP reports it, it is to be accepted as Gospel.
The cries of “white supremacy,” and recent intimations (it’s actually beyond this) that many of the 74,000,000 people who voted for Trump, or are sympathetic toward him, are white supremacists no matter their skin color, should not be a shock. This is a typical move by the “Cathedral” to consolidate its base unto itself – give their followers an enemy and make them feel like they’re fighting fascists/racists. The problem is that in the past the enemy the CP sold us was overseas. The fact that they are telling the population that these “fascists/racists could be your neighbor, or your mom and dad,” should give everyone pause. Unfortunately, people are buying into this narrative fully. To hear the useful idiot masses talk, you’d think they believed they are like those storming the beaches at Normandy to defeat the Nazis. I wonder what they would think if they were able to go back in time and survey the men taking that beach on what their opinion of non-white people was.
In my opinion, the accusations of white supremacy are not going to disappear with Trump. CNN, MSNBC and the ACLU have seen record profits (in donations on the part of the ACLU) in the “racist” Trump-era. How is this to be combatted? A better narrative? Mocking and ridicule? At this point we’ve reached the “throwing crap against the wall and see what sticks” method. In any case, we must realize we are experiencing a radicalization of our neighbors that may put us in their crosshairs. We must be prepared for this. I hope this targeting will go away, but it’s too profitable to those benefitting from it to stop.
‘It’s a Private Company, Bro’
As mentioned previously, even without government-imposed tyranny in response to COVID 19 or the George Floyd riots, 2020 was destined to be a crap show as it was a national election year where the incumbent was hated by the majority of the population. And what were we given to go up against the “Reality Show Host-in-Chief? Joe Damn Biden. A man who can barely make it through a speech without looking like a completely confused jackass. A guy who likes children to play with his leg hair. A guy who went to war with a “bad dude” by the name of “Corn Pop.” He’s also responsible for the 1994 Crime Bill and has been one of the biggest promoters of the “War on Drugs” but hey, after four years of having a clown show in the White House, no need to talk about actual policy.
This election was insanity. Let’s start with the mail-in ballots. Seriously, could people not see this was a recipe for fraud (even if as claimed none was committed)? 26.6 million mail-in ballots were submitted and, as mentioned previously, we are to believe each one had a signature verification check done in a matter of days. Impossible. Election observers came forward and signed affidavits saying they witnessed fraud but were told they were lying. My problem with that is bearing false witness is perjury and a crime yet none of the witnesses are being brought up on charges even though there’s a “full-court press” to punish anyone seen as loyal to Trump. It’s like they don’t want to take the case to court as that would allow evidence of inconsistencies and possible fraud to be introduced into the public.
I know elections have been stolen in the past and that irregularities have occurred in each one, but what we saw out of the tech sector in 2020 is historic. Facebook, Twitter and Google did everything they could to shut down any and all opposition to Joe Biden’s candidacy. When the New York Post – the fourth largest newspaper in the nation – had its Twitter account shut down due to its reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop, I knew the fix was in and there was no way Trump was going to be allowed to win. Twitter made it so any link to that story was forbidden from being posted. Google throttled searches and Facebook took down any mention of the story. Personally, my Facebook account was suspended for 30 days, exactly 29 days before the election and then I was not allowed to post anything in Facebook groups for another 30 days beyond the election.
And that’s what I want to end on. The “Cathedral” is using alleged “private companies” to censor dissident voices. And this is where “Libertarianism” fails every time. The Libertarian worship of business puts them in the position of excusing, and in many cases, cheering on this censorship. In the past three days three officers in the Mises Caucus of the Libertarian Party have had their Facebook accounts eliminated. Groups are being taken down. Even a milquetoast, left-libertarian group full of people some of us call the “Loser Brigade” had their group taken down. And they excused it by saying that they would rebuild but at least they got the Mises Caucus guys. Imagine being defeated in battle and excusing it by celebrating that your perceived adversary was destroyed as well. The government is using “Big Tech” to silence dissident voices and the people who identify as anti-government and pro-rights, are some of those same people cheering on “Big Tech’s” actions. Mind-boggling!
The ‘Debates’ Were a Sh*tShow
With “Big Tech” declaring war on anyone to the Right of Bernie Sanders and a portion of “Libertarianism” cheering it on, I was perplexed. I thought it would be beneficial to return to two events that happened this year that were vastly different in content, but highlight in my mind politics in the modern age. These events were the two 2020 presidential debates that I know a lot of you didn’t watch. Summing them up for you is going to be fun.
The first presidential debate could’ve been a Jerry Springer episode. It was a couple hours of two crotchety old men talking over each other. From the get-go it was clear that interrupting and drowning out his opponent was Trump’s strategy, Biden just followed suit. I’m not one to argue that presidential debates – with the exception of ones where someone like a Ron Paul is participating – will answer any questions about what a candidate will actually do when they get in office, but it is nice to hear some hint of policy agenda. However, the first debate wasn’t about information. It was akin to two dogs pissing anywhere they could in order to mark their territory. This was cheered on by the Right. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. The reason I relished what many would consider “disgraceful” behavior by “Royalty” is because anything that will de-legitimize the presidency is alright by me. The Trump-Right just wanted to see him attack people, and while I enjoyed that too, it’s not pushing the public in the direction I want them to go – to have disgust for the State apparatus and their apparatchiks.
The second presidential debate was more civil, and therefore, boring. My notes for this debate had a huge heading in capital letters- CONSPIRACY THEORIES. Honestly, I barely remember anything Trump said in this debate but Biden should’ve been wearing a tin-foil hat. Biden continued the Left’s Russophobia by not only regurgitating the debunked Russia-gate narrative (this time adding that Iran interfered in the election as well which is amazing since these are the two countries the Neo-liberal center wants war with), but he also brought up another debunked report that Russia was paying “bounties” to Afghanis to kill Americans stationed or working in Afghanistan. Of course the moderator of the debate, Kristen Welker of NBC, was not about to fact-check anything coming out of the “Cathedral’s” preferred candidate’s mouth, so these blatant lies went unchallenged. In my opinion, Trump lost that debate solely because he never once challenged the lies coming out of Biden’s mouth.
I’ve spent a good amount of time recently, here and on social media, talking about “red-pilled” vs “blue-pilled.” Michael Malice would say being red-pilled is knowing that the corporate press and academia have the same agenda and it’s not a coincidence (forgive me Michael if I’m off a bit on that). I believe another part of taking the red-pill is acknowledging that the Federal bureaucracy can’t be fixed mainly because of the aforementioned media and academic class. Curtis Yarvin would go so far as to say that the press and academia are the guiding force behind national politics. Once you get it in your head that the State is a Leviathan that cannot be stopped by joining it and then fighting it from the inside, hopefully you come to the conclusion that the only thing to do is either ignore it and drop out, or educate as many people as possible on its nature so that they may begin to either ignore it, or educate others. If it sounds like multi-level-marketing, that’s because effective messaging always has been.
Hard Questions and a Reality Check
I’ve reached the end of my history review of the God-awful year 2020. Now questions need to be asked and solutions devised. First question: ARE there any solutions to the crap show we just experienced? That’s a good starting query actually. Let’s proceed.
How does individual liberty win in a world where logic and reason have been abandoned by the majority of its inhabitants? How do you have a conversation when the person on the other end is repeating a narrative they’ve been fed? Remember, narratives don’t have to be true they just have to sound plausible. Having them come from so-called experts – technocrats – is vital. The COVID 19 response should be our first teacher on this point.
I believe I’ve made it clear in this series that Americans are not a people who plan. They react. If you’re constantly reacting to challenges that are coming at you, it’s easy to make mistakes. Stepping back and taking in all of the information available is key to being able to work your way out of a negative situation. When it came to the government response to COVID 19, it’s obvious they failed to fully understand and address the situation. An individual making mistakes in judgment for themselves, and their family, is vastly different than a group of technocrats making mistakes that affect 330,000,000 people.
Have you heard the term “The Great Reset” (GR)? How about “Build Back Better?” The GR is a plan by the World Economic Forum (WEF) similar to the “Green New Deal” with the stated goal of fundamentally restructuring the world’s economies around climate change reforms and equality of outcome for individuals. WEF has a website and a podcast. They are not hiding their intentions/goals/plans. Almost every world leader has used the term “Build Back Better” since June 2020 including Joe Biden. What does it mean? Do you think you should find out?
Allow me to finish part 12 with this thought. I’ve heard people say that the totalitarian action and language we’ve experienced in the last year is a struggle between “authoritarianism and libertarianism.” Really? When has libertarian ideology been an option? I’m talking about a real option not just theory. In the grand scheme of things, yes, those are two options, absent of any nuance. However, what we have seen is a struggle between real totalitarianism and a soft fascism. Libertarian ideology isn’t even on the board.
I started this by saying questions need to be asked and answered. Along with the question of ARE there solutions, we should also ask: given the current choices between totalitarianism and fascism, how is the libertarian message supposed to be pushed forward/made an option?
Finally, the End!
The largest, most powerful companies in the world – “tech companies” – are openly collaborating with governments around the world, and when you point this out to certain people, they accuse you of wanting the government to get involved. Is binary thinking so prevalent that they can’t read the first sentence and realize that’s not the solution but the problem? There are more than two choices. A month ago I probably would have defaulted to torches and pitchforks as my answer but after watching the glorious actions of WallStreetBets, it appears people are developing solutions on their own. People are learning how to weaponize their autism beyond “meme wars.”
Once again, I feel the need to mention that common refrain idiot lolbertarians have now managed to get even progressives to repeat; “It’s a private company.” Very cool. When the Walmart-owned boxcars show up to take you to the Amazon-run re-education camps, make sure to leave both companies a good Yelp review, you double-digit IQ twits.
Logic and consistency are dead. I don’t know how many times this must be said before people accept it. And if you refuse to understand that because of some egoistic principle, you’re useless. Enjoy being logically consistent in a corner by yourself because you refuse to adapt.
When Vin Armani and I realized that facts and logic were dead, we were forced to get uncomfortable. I talked about hijacking narratives. Vin went further and said we had to start “practicing magic” as well. He illustrated this point by painting a scenario in which the “Priests in the White Coats” explained to the American people how burning sage and chanting would make the virus disappear. But Vin, knowing the ‘lolbertatian’ mind, mentioned that if there was a libertarian at said ceremony, he or she would inevitably try to point out that this solution was not in accordance with science, at which time almost everyone in the room would tell this worshiper of “facts and logic” to shut the heck up! Why are libertarians always trying to screw things up?
What we are experiencing is not new. In history people have always been willing to trade safety for liberty and the response to COVID 19 is just another marker in humanities’ march toward totalitarianism. We all knew the day was coming when the powers that be would figure out a way to get people to acquiesce to tyranny. The day when liberty would become an afterthought in the minds of the people was inevitable. People have faithfully believed for two centuries that they were entitled to the liberties laid out by the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, but have never been willing to put themselves at risk to preserve them. How long did they think it was going to last with no effort on their part??
The Declaration of Independence references rights as being endowed by a “creator” and never seeks to explain what he, she or it is. Does it really matter? The most important thing is that the rights promised by the Founders are endowed from a “magical realm” that cannot be explained. To me, even the concept of natural rights makes no sense outside of the realm of the spiritual. No, this country’s “Great Experiment” was started on magical ideas by people using magical language. And if you use that language in reference to the founding with the average American today, they accept it. This language, that to many is devoid of “logic and reason,” may just be our journey back to a path of individual liberty and flourishing. What have we got to lose?
