My Thoughts
The necessity to distill all of what ails the world to five-second or fewer than five word snippets in order to garner the inattention of a guttersnipe would appear to be an utter waste of breath, and yet, there is an app for that. Call them what you will, “social” media apps, profligate in baloney and balderdash, are clearly frequented by every guttersnipe and Bandersnatch with a bankrupt brain. It is difficult, if nigh impossible, and certainly not at all practical to attempt to elevate the common guttersnipe from the gutter, but, those of us who know one when we see one still are wont to try.
Not that there is any audacious hope for change, but a few snippets might spark a synapse or electrify a moribund neuron or two—hopelessly, most are more than five words, but perhaps one could be a bit penurious by parsimoniously parsing them down to four or five words or syllabic segments.
One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.” ~ Golda Meir
“Before the truth can set you free you need to recognize which lie is holding you hostage.”
“Social media made Y’all comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the mouth for it.” ~ Morgan Freeman
“Common sense is not a gift, it is a punishment. Because you have to deal with everyone who doesn’t have it.”
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions!” ~ Stephen Covey
“A society that kills a million babies a year for convenience has shut itself down to prevent adults from dying. And to make matters worse, the people who celebrate the mass slaughter of children are now preaching about the sacred value of human life. The whole thing is sick.” ~ Matt Walsh
“It’s not the Government’s job to protect my health. It’s the Government’s job to protect my Constitutional rights. It’s my job to protect my health. When you trade liberty for safety, you end up losing both.”
Then, there is this from C.S. Lewis (trigger warning: it is nineteen times five words long!)
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated. But those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time, likelier to make a Hell of Earth.
Anyone who believes—quite erroneously, I might add—that it is the responsibility and role of government to protect my health and well-being is a glutton for tyranny. On Monday, Governor Sisolak of the state of Nevada in a press conference proclaimed that it was “his job to keep people safe.” Wrong, Governor Sitzalot! Your job is to govern and protect the constitutional rights of the citizens of the state of Nevada. The same goes for every elected government official. We did not elect you to be our master. We did not elect you to forcibly take our freedoms and toss them where the sun does not shine. You stated quite clearly, “I’m not sending in ambassadors and I’m not sending in training officers on how to wear masks.” You stated unequivocally that you are sending in your own personal bully squad, your hundreds of newly hired “Contact Tracers” to enforce YOUR directives. Like a petulant three-year-old throwing a tantrum, you pounded your fists on the table and blubbered “The time for education is over. No more excuses. There need to be consequences.” You also declared, “No more phases.” You will be releasing a “long-term strategy” which will be rolled out on August 3rd. “This is our new normal.” “Stricter enforcement” “Noncompliance will result in businesses being closed.”
Since you were wearing a mask it was impossible to see whether you were smiling with smug self-satisfaction or simply lying through your teeth. Quite frankly, your “long-term strategy”—or should I say, “final solution”—scares the hell out of me; there was a sulfurous odor of open-ended permanency emanating through your pretty blue “face covering.” Since when did you become the chief lawmaker in charge? You have stretched that “emergency powers” canard well passed the breaking point and we are sick and tired of it. Since when did the legislature and the citizens of Nevada become your playthings, giving you permission to do as you dictate? One last question, governor. Since the beginning of June, when masks became mandatory statewide in California, the positive infection rate for COVID-19 has skyrocketed 162%. You stated at the very beginning that the state was one of the lowest in the nation in terms of spread. Would you care (or dare) to explain why you continue to insist facial coverings are the solution to all our problems, Governor Sitzbath?
This may be your new normal, but it is definitely not mine. Give me that old time freedom of religion! Give me my freedom back! Wake up Nevada! Wake up America!
Just my thoughts for a Wednesday, for what it is worth.
