With a language as rich as what is spoken in the United States, how is it that we have been reduced to four catchphrases: “In these uncertain times.” “In these unprecedented times.”
Maybe there are only three. “We’re all in this together” is the third, and it is the most annoying. We are not all in this together.
First we have the government that keeps shifting the objective. Originally it was so hospitals could prepare for the deluge of dying patients. That objective has been met weeks ago. The models, just like climate change, are wrong. The goal posts have been moved further and further away to a point where we’ll continue to mask up, lock down, and destroy small businesses and leave hundreds of thousands unemployed and in danger of utter financial ruin.
Then there’s the Fifth Estate, a term that goes back to the ’60s. You remember the ’60s hippy, “red diaper, doper” culture that wanted to overtake the country. Those folks are now in colleges and universities, or (I choke to use the term) journalists. Ask a journalist why they chose that profession, and the answer will be, “To change things.” Hang on to your Funk and Wagnalls—you are not a journalist. You are a propagandist. These are, as the Fifth Estate is defined, the voice of truth. Whose truth? It sure wasn’t anything close what our legislators swear to when they take office.
Yup, and then there’s a bunch of people who raise their right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution. There are those who probably have never read the Constitution but are hell-bent on ripping it up for some Marxist dream.
Then there’s us. Americans of every diversity. We want our lives back. We know who needs to be protected like we’ve known every flu season. We know if your are in good health and get flu symptoms you call in sick. Get plenty of rest, drink fluids, and take over-the-counter cold and flu medications.
You, Mr./Ms. editor. Get out a calculator and run the numbers. We’ve destroyed nearly 30 percent of the nation’s GDP to protect a tiny fraction of the population. Let’s get real.
Jan Lipski
Vandenberg Village
This article appears in Aug 20-27, 2020.
