One of the more interesting things that I’ve noted recently, is the idea that not just society, but government is somehow magically responsible for just about every aspect of life.

People seem to have decided, for example, that the folks in politics—particularly at a national level—are responsible for pretty much every aspect of heath, fitness and wellbeing.

To give you an example, people truly seem to believe that the lawgivers on high will somehow be able to “fix” the COVID-19 situation. This is of course, tempered by the idea that you “just have to have the correct people in power” to do the job.

Obviously, even though those in power in the United States truly are doing better than leaders from most other countries, others, with policies yet to be specified would apparently do far better.

Instead of actually coming out with the ideas, and allowing them to be adopted (or not) by the current leadership, it’s to be understood that they must be in power. Put differently, “It has to happen my way all the way (with me in charge), or I’m taking my ball and going home!”

Here’s the dirty little secret they seem to want you to fail to consider. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge, people will die and the virus will spread.

Things can be done by individuals to protect persons who are at greater risk of more extreme outcomes (like death or long term illness) where this disease is concerned, but otherwise, it probably actually makes more sense to assume it’s going to go through the populace at large and allow it to happen.

How do we do that? My take is, we allow it to spread as it would naturally do, taking precautions as we see fit, and working—again—to ensure the most vulnerable are protected from transmission.

The important thing though, is not whether or not the ailment can be prevented or squelched in some fashion. Rather, the important issue is, it’s not the job of government to fix or really even deal with that. And that’s particularly true for the national government.

This is just one of a huge number of instances in which it’s errantly assumed that our leaders bear the full brunt of responsibility for what happens.

Another excellent example involves how people are paid.

Under the auspices of the fact that many folks are making more on unemployment, than they would if they were out working at a job, people are stating that this is somehow the “fault of the country’s leadership.”

In one sense, they’re correct the recent trend of bailing people out whey they fail shows why the people in administrative authority (read here “government types”) can’t afford to take such actions. The first rule of giving things away is, “People will invariably want more.” So initially it was this group being bailed out, then that one, now it’s people who’ve lost jobs as a result of COVID-19.

The sad reality of course is, those folks wouldn’t have lost jobs if the lockdowns hadn’t occurred.

I know, I know, “You just want people to die.” You know what’s funny? Want it or not, it’s going to happen; and frankly, if those not likely to live through this, or whose health would be permanently affected were properly protected, no lockdown would’ve been necessary in the first place.

And since the number at risk would be substantially less than the number currently locked out of their workplaces, there would be less of an issue come to the financial fallout of taking care of them.

Again, this also is not something the folks tasked with running the country, the states or municipalities ought to be dealing with. Even if they are though, it should be something managed at the lowest possible level. That would not be the federal government, nor even the state.

The problem is, we’re in backwards-land at present. Instead of allowing the virus to run its course and protecting those who would be badly affected (up to and including death), we’ve chosen instead to stop the world, making it so man others are being horribly adversely affected by the results of that choice.

Drug abuse? Up! Depression? Up! Suicide? Up! Hopelessness? Up! Deaths from causes other than COVID-19? Up! People not being treated for various conditions and suffering anything from minor reduction in quality of life to death? Up!

I believe it was literally the head of the Centers For Disease Control who said essentially that, “More people are dying from other causes, exacerbated by the lockdowns, than are dying and likely will die of the results of contracting COVID-19.”

I, for one, think that’s highly likely.

Again though, the real point is, at this point, we have situations that look an awful lot like martial law, with states like New York (and most particularly New York City) levying unbearable penalties on people determined to be violating the edicts.

Bad enough that a person cannot go back to work. Worse yet that he or she must follow the commands of municipal emperors. Now the result of failing to do so is all but, “send them to the gulag for reeducation.”

Don’t worry, I can hear the thoughts from some. “You’re overreacting!”

Do you know what it sounds like when people say that? It’s basically the same sort of things people were saying about Hitler.

This is the funny part, people who’ve largely shown not the least sign of trying to crack down on folks have been compared to that dictator, yet people who’re doing the same sorts of things for which he advocated are not.

Sometimes, literally the same people being accused of being “Hitler-like” for doing things that weren’t totalitarian or despotic are not being called out when the things they’re doing are totalitarian and despotic. In fact, to the degree they’re willing to do such things, people are applauding them.

For my part, I think we’ve become confused. To begin with, at no point did the government of the U.S. or any of its subordinate entities become responsible for cradle-to-grave care of its citizens. On top of that, despotism is about taking control, can people honestly not see that’s what folks in government are currently doing?

Thanks for reading, and may your time be good.