Sunday, July 12, 2020

A House Divided ... To Mask or Not to Mask and The Real Threat

Today, on a phone call, a friend asked:" Do you think there is any hope left for this country? It looks like communism is being installed." The question is relevant and timely. Here are a few thoughts going forward.

For all those on both sides of the mask question, just stop it. 


  1.  Yes, the virus is a real virus. It does cause fatalities.
  2. Yes, the numbers on those fatalities are garbage, but that doesn't mean that people aren't dying or being severely affected and we will not know how many until it has gone through the population and perhaps not even then.Don't let the numbers be a hindrance to good behavior.
  3.  Yes, wearing a mask carries health risks too.
  4.  Yes, the Constitution says we may peacefully protest and gather in our churches to worship and sing, if we so choose, and the government is in error to attempt to stop such things.
  5.  Yes, government restrictions on our movements are a slippery slope - if we accept them without seeking redress.
  6. Yes, civil disobedience is appropriate.
  7. No, we should not shame people for not wearing masks because some people have medical issues that make it dangerous for them to do so.  
  8. Yes, your civil disobedience is endangering those who are most vulnerable among us. Freedom is not safe, it's just safer than the alternatives.
  9. No, the virus is not a world wide conspiracy, it is a virus. And, of course those looking for power will use it to attempt to get some.
  10. Yes, many, both in government and wishing to be in government are taking advantage of this pandemic to attempt to implement their own vision of the USA on the rest of us. 
  11. Yes, we should wear masks when we are asked to do so by businesses, because that is the correct and polite thing to do. They have the right to request it of their patrons. 
  12. Yes, we should refuse to wear a mask when it is mandated by government because that is an overreach of the authority we granted to them through the US Constitution. And if we are arrested for it - or even if we are not, we take it to the courts. That's how the system works.
  13. Yes, we should be thankful for this virus because it has given us the opportunity to get our houses in order on all levels.  
 --- It has reminded us that death is coming to all and we do not know when, so we should have our affairs in order for those we love.

--- It has shown us which government officials understand and agree with the US Constitution and which do not - giving us the opportunity to remove them.

--- It has given parents the opportunity to really have a look at what the schools are teaching and get to know their children better. 

--- It has given businesses the opportunity to re-examine their business models and philosophies. 

--- It has given the nation the opportunity to see which other nations are behaving in a civilized manner and which are not. 

--- It has given the nation the opportunity to examine our supply chain and see how it can be made better. 

What we do not need is for the overzealous to be using this virus to divide us any further than we already are. 
Stop obsessing over masks and start discussing the divisions among us that the mask issue (And the superfluous concentration - in opposition to the actual facts - on racism) has revealed. 

This nation is clearly divided and we need to be thinking about how to move forward through that division. Many people seem very unhappy to be living here and think this nation is the worst place on Earth. They disagree so strongly with the founding philosophies and principles of this nation that they could be said to be aiding and abetting her enemies. Perhaps we need to have a discussion about that. Perhaps we need to ask the government to create a program to help those people to relocate to a nation where they think they would be happier and more successful in exchange for the revocation of their US citizenship.

This author suggests that option cautiously because this nation was designed to be changed by her citizens when necessary. But the point of having the Constitution as the supreme law of the land is to protect future generations from the fads of an ever changing culture. Too, there is the recognition that, this nation was designed for a people who shared certain morals, values and ethics. Specifically the Judeo-Christian morals, values and ethics. If we, as a nation, no longer share them, then the nation cannot survive.

The goal was to create a nation in which all could prosper while maintaining a respect for the rights of the individual. We have to agree on what those rights are. We have to agree on what the role of government is in maintaining those rights. Given the creation of the BREATHE act (not yet introduced to Congress at the time of this writing) and the leeway given by certain leaders to allow rioting and looting while condemning peaceful assembly, we are no longer  in agreement on fundamental precepts. 


We need to be asking if this is a widespread disagreement - as nearly the whole of the MSM would paint it - or just the disagreement of a few power weasels with "loud " voices through some degree of control over the MSM/Entertainment industries. Because the solutions we need to find depend on the answer to that question. (One cannot help but to wonder what would be found if the W-2's of those engaging in/instigating violence were to be closely examined.)

We have a lot of work to do to get our house in order, America. So lets stop arguing about masks and whether or not it is a political statement to wear one and start asking where we can find reasonably unbiased "loud" voices to cover the discussions we need to be having to get our house in order.  "A house divided against itself cannot stand." And there are outside actors - and some inside ones(Antifa, BLM, DSA, CAIR, and etc) - pushing for our "house" to fall. We are not without enemies and they are acting to bind us by our own decency. After all, the word "racist" only affects those who find racism to be appalling. This nation so believes in freedom that she paid for the freedom of slaves with the blood of over 600,000 of her citizens. 


Don't let yourselves be distracted and divided by masks - which, after all is said and sifted, may be a matter of good manners and, yes, protecting Grandma and Grandpa and that wonderful 5 year old with the heart condition and even that healthy young man who dives for a living. By all means remove those who use government to impose a mask on you, but don't neglect to protect the vulnerable when you may, by choice, do so.
"23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house." ~ Mark 3:23-27 (Although the whole chapter is relevant)

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