Greetings from Tyler,
Let’s just hope the United States hasn’t been permanently wrecked, not only for our own sakes, but for the sake of every country on earth. But it has been temporarily wrecked. It seems as though those who demanded socialism on the basis that we inhabit a flawed nation, founded on xenophobia and racism, are getting more than they ever dreamed. A government check for nearly everybody! It turns out the government has the ability to create unlimited amounts of money and give it away. As if the debt wasn’t already out of this world.
You realize of course that the bail-out of businesses and individuals comes at the cost of hundreds of millions for several left-wing causes. This sort of thing used to be kryptonite to conservatives. But now we listen to some formerly sane personalities banging on about the necessity for the government to hurry up and get this money into people’s hands. After all they’re suffering through no fault of their own, and now the government owes everybody, according to the logic.
It’s been both surprising and disappointing how easily the population knuckled under. Were there not ways to continue to conduct business without everyone being banished to their homes? Apparently only mayors and governors have common sense, and they’ll get back to you once they’ve decided what’s good for everybody. Maybe it seemed like a bit of fun in the beginning, not going to work and all. But cabin fever is real, and so is depression. People are beginning to get out of the house to protest in their cars. It might have been easier to use common sense and go on about life to begin with. But we’re all reading stories of police in various locations, seeming as though they have newfound authority to “enforce orders.” We thought it couldn’t happen here. It’s happening.
Surely it’s not lost on our readers that the fervent haters of President Trump would just as soon see economic disaster as face another four years with him at the helm. Several of their “influencers” have said as much. Will America, Australia, Canada and the UK bounce back, or will “authorities” continue to milk the crisis for as long as possible, basking in power they never had to begin with.
There have been many, but this is the best example of taking advantage of a crisis we’ve ever seen.
Here’s an inescapable irony. Those who demand socialism for the United States often point to Sweden as an example of a socialist success story. Sweden is not socialist, it derives it’s income from capitalist trade. It has social programs in place, for which the citizens pay through high taxation. But Sweden didn’t order everyone to shelter at home, and has not suffered much worse than neighboring countries that did.
Unbelievably though, we’re in the thick of it here in the land of the free and home of the brave. Suddenly we’re expected to rush to obey governors, mayors and county commissioners, no matter what they demand. It’s heartbreaking, seeing the Western world destroy itself on the basis of fear. If you’re not afraid, they’ll teach you a lesson, assuming law enforcement cooperates.
Hopefully communist China will be held accountable for the fact that they banned travel from Wuhan to other Chinese cities, but allowed international travel out of the city. There is broad agreement that the virus came from the horseshoe bat through a laboratory in Wuhan, and was spread at the infamous “wet market.” There is also a growing consensus that the World Health Organization helped China conceal the threat in the early going. It’s good news that President Trump is holding up funding for the WHO. Hopefully the outfit will be banished from the United States, whether or not Europe and other Western nations agree.
Precedents have been set, and there is little doubt that this will happen again. The Bible tells us that the whole world, save the very elect, will be deceived into worship of a man and a system with great authority. This may well be a glimpse into what’s coming. What better way to get compliance than to spread fear throughout society? It certainly has worked this time around. Let’s hope the cure doesn’t destroy everything.
Mark Armstrong
P. S. We’re holding live Sabbath services here, and getting them on the Internet by the afternoon. We are taking some of the precautions that have been advised, but nobody has shown up in a surgical mask. So far our income has held up, and it’s business as usual at our office. We expect that the Constitution is still the law of the land, and the officials will soon realize that it still applies, bat flu or come what may.
