If I found myself demanding
the rest of the world live like this just to keep me safe, I like to think I’d
die of shame.
Christmas reminds us that God took human form, in one of the harshest eras in history, and became a willing sacrifice for all mankind. Currently, people who don’t believe in any of that are demanding you sacrifice everything to make them feel better.
Freedom is dead as disco and safety is all the rage. You can find it everywhere on TwitFace; comments like, "YOUR freedom ends where MY health begins!" This is often followed by some mangled analogy of Oliver Wendell Holmes yelling "Fire!" while wearing a seatbelt in a crowded theatre.
And then they leave it at that. The little darlings honestly believe making it all about themselves is checkmate.
One can scarcely blame younger generations, having been raised in a therapeutic culture of self esteem, self-involvement, and the constant cataloguing of what they are "going through."
It is of a piece with our zeitgeist of grievance, complaint, and the harnessing of that energy to exert power.
Identity politics is all about dictating rules to other people for being in your presence. Call me by this name now, not the one you have known; agree that I am this “gender” and not the one we both know me to be; refer to me by this made-up pronoun, not any of the real ones that are available. Do this, or I will bring the wrath of the state and the mob (to the extent they remain distinguishable) down upon you.
There is no nobility in that, only self. It evinces a bitter, even demonic, desire for control over others, and an urge to punish and inflict pain.
No one is truly harmed by being called by the wrong name and, if they are, that is on them. For most of humanity, our ancestors eked out survival upon brutal terrain. If you cannot keep it together when your uncle fails to call you “Moonbeam” on command, you are beyond our aid.
Brushed back by the accusation that they are being selfish, the young may retort that Covid restrictions are not about them, but about protecting the elderly.
Finding myself in the September of my years, I can attest that aging is no picnic. Apart from the lovely things one must daily learn to leave behind, one becomes vulnerable to old pleasures that become new dangers.
Perhaps the elderly would like to speak for themselves, and not with one voice. Many understand the reality of time as I have just articulated.
Conversely, if you are willing for forego what might be your final family Christmas in obeisance of bizarre ordinances, then I question your priorities.
Moreover, if after a long life of freedom you insist younger generations live in captivity so that you can dodder on a little longer, then you and I would not have been friends at any age.
"Captivity" is the word. You will notice those in charge are not even pretending anymore. From "15 days to flatten the curve," which sounds downright adorable now, they are promising years of masks, restrictions, and lockdowns, even if we follow their insane and capricious commands to the letter.
Everyone eschews the word "mandatory" in reference to the forthcoming vaccine, while threatening that those who refuse to be injected with this absurdly rushed concoction will be unable to buy, sell, or participate in normal life. That is a de facto mandate, if not de jure.
We can dispense with talk of the slippery slope or where this all might lead. Days from now, your church will be shuttered for Christmas. People attempting to worship will be fined and arrested. Seemingly normal citizens will call the authorities on their neighbors and police will break up families eating together in their homes.
We are through the looking glass, people.
All of this, it is claimed, is for a virus with a recovery rate over 99 percent, and from which nearly all mortalities occur in those who have pre-existing conditions and/or are beyond average life expectancy.
But this is not about a disease, or safety, and even the most committed Faucists would admit it, if they were honest with themselves. If “We are all in this together” sounds risible or minatory to you, that is because it was always an order, if not a threat.
The human desire to control others is a dangerous thing and, once indulged, it is insatiable. That is why politicians and bureaucrats – who talk of “unity” even as they have not missed a paycheck – no longer give dates or timelines for when this will end. They would not know how to stop, even if they wanted to.
All of it turns the notion of sacrifice on its head. The official aesthetic is of cheerful giving, but the reality we are living consists of compulsion, intimidation, and enslavement.
Compliance is not a virtue and compelled sacrifice is nothing of the kind. It is theft – of life, of dignity, and of freedom.
Theo Caldwell just wanted to be left alone. Contact him at theo@theocaldwell.com
