Last Thursday IL Governor J. B. Pritzker extended the stay-at-home order until the end of May and announced a new requirement–wearing a mask in public indoor places, such as stores. I haven’t worn a mask yet and I am loath to start. For me the mask is not so much a tool to “keep everyone safe,” but a symbol of tyranny, hysteria and a course of action that will ultimately ruin the lives of millions. Believe me when I say I sincerely hope that I am wrong. But, at this point it’s hard for me to see it any other way.
First let me deal with the hysteria…Contrary to popular opinion, I am not willfully endangering anyone by not wearing a mask. The fact of the matter is; the virus will work its way through the American population whether we like it or not. As it does it will unfortunately kill many people whose health is poor–and a small percentage of others who seem to be healthy. EVERY communicable disease works this way. It takes the weakest first. This is called Farr’s Law. Look it up. We cannot stop it. Let me repeat that. We CANNOT stop the virus from working its way through the American population. In fact, the so-called success of mitigation might amount to little more than Farr’s Law in action. Mitigation might slow it down somewhat, but it will not stop it. Now that our healthcare system is geared up we should not even want to stop it because it will simply come back. In the absence of a vaccine that might never come vast numbers of people becoming infected and developing immunity is the only way to get rid of it.
Second and again contrary to popular opinion, Covid-19 is not particularly dangerous. Fear of this virus is little more than media-fueled hysteria grounded in ignorance. Even Neil Ferguson, author of the faulty model upon which the initial shutdowns were predicated, has conceded that two-thirds of the people who die from Covid-19 would most likely have died from other causes before the end of the year. The initial shutdown was based on his model which has since been proven wrong multiple times in every way it is possible to be wrong including mortality, infectiousness and peak timing. A growing number of anti-body studies in such diverse places as NYC, CA and even FL indicate that the disease is much, much more contagious than previously thought. The initial concern about overwhelming the healthcare system may have been valid. But it turns out that although the virus spreads lightning fast, it is not particularly dangerous. Literally millions of Americans have already been infected and suffered no lasting harm at all. When you crunch the numbers (I did) the actual death rate turns out to be less than a tiny fraction of one tenth of one percent. Only a very small percentage of those who are infected will become seriously ill, let alone die.
To put it into context, did you know that in 1957-58 there was a flu epidemic that killed 116,000 Americans? Neither did I. Maybe that’s because nobody shut anything down. No one sheltered in place. No one drove alone in their car wearing a mask…The equivalent death toll in today’s population would be around 190,000 people–yet very few people even remember it. This should be instructive, but somehow it’s not.
On to the lawlessness…Gov. Pritzker does not have the legal authority to force people to stay home let alone to pick and choose whose businesses to close for an indefinite period of time. These are unconstitutional edicts that do not even accord with Illinois law. When we cooperate with Pritzker we give him tyrannical power that he would not otherwise possess. The details of the illegality of his actions have been well explained in several recent articles at Illinois Family Institute. (See the links below.) Furthermore, a man who champions the slaughter of unborn babies throughout all nine months of pregnancy can hardly be counted on to make a wise moral decision when the issue is complicated. There is a certain poetic justice in it if you believe what the Bible teaches; that God sometimes judges people groups. Terrible leadership is a judgment in itself.
Finally, the destruction…Behind all of this and garnering shockingly little attention is the fact that the livelihoods of millions of American families are being destroyed as we speak. Upon being told that people have depleted their savings, can’t access government assistance and are becoming increasingly desperate as to how to feed their families, NY’s governor Mario Cuomo gave this astonishing advice. “Take the job as an essential worker!” The stupidity of that remark is superseded only by its callousness. Cuomo is a multimillionaire who has yet to even miss a haircut. Apparently both he and Governor Pritzker are determined to save as many of us as they can—even if it kills us. This is not about the portfolios of Wall Street fat cats taking a nose-dive. It’s about sending millions of American families into grinding poverty. As radio talk show host Dennis Prager has pointedly asked, “What number of people going into poverty should cause us to rethink our position?”
Our economic system is a bit like a Jenga tower. How many pieces can be removed before the whole thing comes tumbling down? Where are the economic models that might answer that question? Their absence is conspicuous. That alone should tell us everything we need to know about this catastrophic course of action. Already, the UN is predicting that hundreds of millions of children across the world will die, not because of the virus but because of the shutdown. If we continue down this road I’m afraid that the virus itself will end up being nothing more than a footnote to the greatest economic collapse in world history. Again, I really hope that I am wrong.
If it is not already too late, recovery will depend on whether or not our leaders are willing to reverse course. Christians are supposed to be people of the truth. Our sheep-like cooperation, including wearing a mask anytime it is not specifically required, lends credibility to this self-destructive hysteria. I will throw on a bandana when I have to go to the store–and THAT only because I won’t be allowed to buy groceries without it, but you can keep the mask…I abhor everything it stands for.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/25/two-thirds-patients-die-coronavirus-would-have-died-year-anyway/
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1957-1958-pandemic.html
https://www.bnd.com/news/coronavirus/article242270241.html
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2020/04/01/coronavirus_death_predictions_bring_new_meaning_to_hysteria_487977.html
https://townhall.com/columnists/kevinmccullough/2020/04/23/antibody-testing-proves-weve-been-had-n2567516
