The public reaction to the coronavirus scare perplexes me. On one hand, we have blatantly absurd conspiracy theories asserting that 5G cellular telephony radio signals are somehow responsible for coronavirus symptoms, and there's quite the Venn diagram overlap with flat-earthers and "Michelle Obama is a tranny" crowds. I am, shall we say, skeptical of such assertions.
On the other hand, we have people waiting with bated breath for every news announcement or political speech, cowering in fear regardless of their individual risk category, and ready to report anyone who isn't as fearful as they are. Their 'authority' is the same organizations who lied us into wars, lied to us about the consequences of economic manipulation, and lied to us about surveillance of the populace. I certainly don't trust these sources, either.
This is, after all, the government and media conglomerate that has cried 'wolf' repeatedly, dramatically exaggerating the threat of 'novel' diseases over the years that turned out to be far less destructive than they claimed. To be fair, the boy who cried 'wolf' eventually had to face an actual wolf, and the moral of the story was that the prior lies sealed his doom when real danger arose. But is this really the wolf, or more like a repeat of SARS, bird flu, swine flu, zika, ebola, and anthrax? We're being fed hype, not rational analysis, and that triggers my suspicions.
"We need Universal Basic Income and Medicare for All," say the self-professed Progressives. No, thanks. First, making people even more dependent on government is not a solution. Second, this is just another chain for the political class to yank in the future. Third, these benefits programs cannot create goods and services like farms, groceries, doctors, hospitals, clinics, or masks. Monopolizing industry promotes even more waste and abuse, and there is no magical exception to economic law for government.
We need instead to peel back over a century of bureaucracy that has been building up since the first 'progressives.' Repeal 'certificate of need' laws, the absurd health insurance cartel protections, and the FDA roadblocks to real progress. We're not experiencing market failure, but the strangulation of red tape. Our economic problems are consequences of government intervention followed by government-imposed shutdown. We also need to address arrogant central planners deciding who and what is 'essential.' That is such blatant totalitarianism that it should infuriate anyone with even a spark of liberty in their soul. The worst response is a command economy.
I know this will be taken by many as if I am claiming the virus is a hoax, or a blatant disregard for the vulnerable. That would be misinterpretation. I have no reason to doubt the existence of a previously-unknown coronavirus. I have no reason to doubt that some people are especially vulnerable, and may need protective quarantine to minimize their risk of exposure. If people are sick, the should be encouraged to stay home, and should not fear being fired or losing grades in school.
Of course, the obstacles to this proposal are also blamed on laissez-faire free market capitalism, but that is simply wrong.
I also question the official timeline. I suffered from a severe illness that matched all the COVID-19 symptoms but loss of taste and smell back in early February. People preach about 'flattening the curve,' but what if the curve has already come and gone unnoticed amidst the seasonal flu? What if the government dropped the ball on recognizing and tracking this bug for weeks or even months? What if the reported statistics are skewed by both selection bias and false reporting? No one wants to ask such questions, much less test them, because that doesn't seem to fit the lucrative media hype or political machinations of government thugs.
Look at how pleased these state governors and other elected officials are for their chance to seize the limelight, impose their will at gunpoint, and punish dissenters. 'Something must be done, and we are doing something, so we are doing what must be done,' and, 'If you're not with us, you're with the virus!' This grandstanding should be sickening, but so many eagerly lap it up.
We are clearly no longer the land of the free. The last vestiges of that seem to have died in the response to 9/11. And now, we see that it is no longer the Home of the Brave, either. It's the Karens and Quislings who rule.
Originally written as an insomniac rant, now slightly edited