Fear and Loathing in 2021

Upon returning from another multi-state trip, I sat down to reflect upon how much fear is still out there among the general populace over this jumped up flu infection that has been the most devious hoax perpetrated on the planet in my lifetime. At this point, banishing all that fear, even by official public decree, would take quite a bit of work. I'm afraid some folks may don a mask for the rest of their lives, against all proof.

But will any government actually want to banish the fear which has turned its citizens into anxiety-ridden and obedient zombies? There are calls in different countries to keep social distancing going into 2022. And even if the lockdowns stop, there is no guarantee that panicky politicians won't bring them back. Add to this that there are now some climate fanatics and green zealots that have regained power that want to keep the lockdowns in place indefinitely; they see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use it to destroy capitalism, break the structure of modern society, and further their own aims.

New infectious organisms are discovered every year, so with the media already demonstrating that it is ready, willing, and able to help build a new scare over another major, full-blooded potential holocaust, will we ever see an end to the public fear-mongering?

Unfortunately the politically correct language used to talk around the issue is deliberately designed to discourage dissent. Politicians are terrified of making decisions that might prove controversial. They are never going to admit that they got things terribly wrong.  They are, sorry to say, perhaps even more fearful of being shown that they over-reacted. Politicians dread the citizenry they loathe waking up to the fact that they panicked. And the media has been so wedded to its narrative that they are never going to admit that their headlines were fake... and that the fear they engendered was entirely unnecessary. 

The media has been entirely supine - readily repeating whatever they were told by government officials and never questioning the wisdom of lockdowns, tests, death stats, vaccines, and masks.  Editors and journalists have shown no backbone whatsoever and deserve no further trust or credibility. What is evident is that no longer does media or government represent the needs and interests of the people.  Either they are collectively stupid and incompetent or they are crooked as hell (which I suspect) and complicit in perpetrating this massive hoax for nefarious objectives. 

I don't foresee a politically-comfortable answer, regrettably. I fear that the stage is already being set with talk of mutations to replay what just happened in 2020.  This is war... and a protracted battle to win back the world of January 2020 may be the only solution.