America’s sickness, part 1

“With ignorance virtually institutionalized, how can we get man to see? Bewildered by his curious alienation from reality, he is unable to prescribe for himself, for he imagines that what he needs is more of the disease.”
— Richard Weaver

The coronavirus is getting people to see that Americanism is incompatible with reality. The nation-state suffers from a moral sickness, which is largely to blame for what propelled these “United” States into our current realm of confusion and chaos. I think it’s becoming abundantly obvious to everyone that the system is ill, debilitated, and clinging to life.

In my last post, I wrote about how I believe the public-school closures due to the pandemic will help tear off the scab of government “education.” Well, I say we tear off the scabs of all the infected institutions, letting the social pathogens and cultural contagions bleed out, which is likely coming, whether we like it or not.

Some of my favorite content-creators are saying that this is the beginning of the real ascent of technocratic globalism and centralized overreach. In his famous work “Crisis and Leviathan,” economist Robert Higgs described it as the “ratchet effect,” in that government grows during crises, propelling forward never-ending expansionism of the state.

While I understand the principle and get that politicians are opportunists, I don’t think the oligarchs are going to pull it off this time. It’s just too big a catastrophe to keep up the charade. After all, governments require money and enforcement, two things that are going to be in increasingly short supply in the coming days.

Some locales in big cities have drastically reduced police forces. Who’s going to enforce new-fangled draconian laws when the precinct “building is a ghost town”?

But what about states implementing quarantines, martial law, and calling in the National Guard, they say? Well, legally, that is all within a governor’s purview, as long as it doesn’t violate said state’s constitution. “The dirty little secret in American politics [is that] the States ALWAYS have more real power than the general government,” explained historian Brion McClanahan.

Again, once police and part-time soldiers start getting sick in these viral urban areas and the economy really tanks, where’s the enforcement going to come from? And if the oligarchs want to outsource some enforcers Hessian-style, where’s their payment coming from? Eventually, (a) the Feds’ printing presses are going to stop, (b) the bubble’s going to burst, (c) the dollar will simply collapse when China finally calls on payment for US debt, or (d) all of the above.

“After lowering the interest rate to zero and pumping trillions into the market, the Fed is finding that it has no tools to address the inevitable bursting of the bubble,” says Ron Paul. Now, the unconstitutional central-banking system is going full-bore, making unprecedented bond purchases and buying corporate debt as to “calm markets.” Describing this as untenable would be an understatement.

Due to the madness, an invigorated push for decentralization is rising, poking a much-needed hole in America’s modern imperial presidency a la Lincoln worship and Unionism by bayonet, and surprisingly, it’s not coming from the usual states-rights advocates. “The myth of a single person in charge taking control and running this is a myth,” argued Craig Fugate, former FEMA administrator under Obama.

“This is going to be dealt with on the front lines and local and state levels, and each state is going to be addressing this unique to their systems,” continued Fugate, who then exclaimed, “I don’t have time to listen to bullshit, people!'” when he stormed off the cable-news set after the other guest demanded for even more top-down, one-size-fits-all governance – the very same diseased ideology that got us to where we’re at.

People are realizing that police don’t really keep us safe, especially now that some large cities aren’t responding to nonviolent crimes and some states are even considering releasing people from prison. Gun ownership is about protection of life and property, and the social disorder and increased criminality that will result from coronavirus will force the “common-sense gun control” zealots to accept reality.

Even Slate gets it … sort of. “All over America, the coronavirus is revealing, or at least reminding us, just how much of contemporary American life is bullshit,” wrote editor Dan Kois. He rightly points out how the TSA’s “security theater” is a sham, since it was so darn easy for the federal agency to simply wave its 3.4-ounce-limit rule for hand sanitizer, proving that it wasn’t truly necessary in the first place.

Kois then goes on to call for paid leave, rent control, universal housing, and other such “reforms.” Turns out the progressive actually does want to empower the regulatory state, but at least he’s starting to question some inanity of the nanny state.

I bet a surge in dead tax payers, medical demands in an already-overpriced government healthcare system, high unemployment, struggling and shut-down businesses, broken supply chains, fiat currency, and hyper-inflation will squash Kois’ do-gooder dreams. Hell, when there’s no money to fund food stamps, seems kinda silly to cry a river over the interest people have to pay on their fed-backed college loans. Don’t miss the forest for the trees, Danny boy; the entire system’s a racket.

Peter Schiff dissects our pending economic dilemma: a house of cards built with billions in Wall Street bailouts, consumer and government debt, spending beyond our means, high taxation, the welfare state, and false prosperity. It’s about to come tumbling down. It ain’t gonna be pretty, but it will be an effective way to finally drain the swamp.

Speaking of college, I agree with Tucker Carlson. Why rack up debt to the federal government in order to chase the illusion of “higher education” when you can do some real learning by controlling content and costs via online distance learning? I think the golden-paved luxury universities with their state-of-the-art rock-climbing walls, subsidized whiteness-studies departments, overpaid false intellectuals, and indoctrinated student body will soon be a relic of the past. Your days are numbered, Ivory Tower.

Streamlined job-readiness is what people will need to survive and, honestly, it’s all most will be able to afford. I bet on-the-job training and apprenticeships will make a huge comeback, as well. You could be a skilled tradesman, like a plumber, who owns his own business, or an Uber driver with a PhD in sociology. Who’s the dummy now, elitists?

Of course, government medicine is another systemic veil being lifted back. Without the power of plunder, everyone will see just how feckless Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare really are. Sure, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may think the coronavirus crisis is going to gain her traction for socialist schemes like universal “healthcare,” but coronavirus will knock over the already-teetering systems.

As of now, the feds are letting states, medical associations, and hospitals handle rationing. And once the numbers of sick start to overwhelm the system, I pray that ingenuity of local healthcare professionals and innovation of the private sector take hold, and that meddling bureaucrats stay the hell out of the way.

If the TSA can just wave a regulation, as can the DOT, why can’t the IRS? I say, the opportunity’s at hand to tear the scab off of all the alphabet-soup agencies.

This anti-Washington sentiment is reverberating even in the newsroom of the New York Times, which reported that “a series of missed chances” by the CDC and FDA (caused by governmental regulations) exacerbated the spread of coronavirus here in the States. “This crisis has exposed the deep fissures and failures in our culture and the incompetence of so many of our federal leaders,” wrote a policy analyst on the Times opinion page.

Sure, I get that some of this criticism comes from the left just because they hate Trump. But I also think it’s becoming increasingly apparent to many that the emperor has no clothes. Pretty soon, everyone will see.

“Our economy is fragile, our society shallow, and our democracy rotten to the core,” continued the op-ed. She even called for more local, state, and regional leadership, but that was before demanding universal internet, a universal basic income, and higher teacher pay. Yeah, that’s not going to happen, especially after the coronavirus economic relief bill breaks the bank, with its $3,000 for families and $4 trillion in liquidity for the Fed. The gravy train is headed straight off the cliff, folks. Good.

Coronavirus coverage has only heightened people’s already-piqued distrust of the deceptive mainstream press and the deleterious academy, thus, increasing reliance on citizen journalism and other alternative media. Welcome news indeed.

Sure, you have some true believers hanging on by their fingernails. There are still progressive professors who are clamoring for an increase in “expert bureaucracy in charge of our government,” and more centralization, more immigration, more regulation. They know where their bread and butter comes from.

And some left-wing journalists claim that Trump has “hollowed out federal agencies and belittled expertise.” If only. “The sidelining of career expertise over the last three years puts you at a disadvantage in dealing with crises,” whine elitists as they screech for more elitism, all while citing anonymous White House aides and ex-officials in a Hail Mary to try to save the dying Deep State. Tribesmen gotta stick together, I suppose.

Let’s not forget that these are the very same people who initially accused Trump of overreacting to the coronavirus. It’s just the flu, bro! Only racists and xenophobes suspend travel from China and Europe. Now, they’re bashing Trump for not doing enough quickly enough, while simultaneously wasting everyone’s precious time and energy by making hay out of the president saying “Chinese virus.”

Globalization sure can manifest itself in crazy ways.

Turns out, half the country doesn’t trust the corporate media – data that runs along partisan lines, perfectly illustrating America’s entrenched sickness. So when Jim Acosta gets triggered by Trump calling COVID-19 a “foreign virus” (as opposed to simply reporting facts so folks can be informed), it’s obvious the apparatchiks care more about scoring political points than they ever will about you.

It “smacked of xenophobia,” proclaimed Acosta, who would rather protect the communist country of China and take marching orders from the World Health Organization (a specialized agency of the United Nations) than he would cut the US president some slack.

Is it any wonder that the WHO, which has “long promoted abortion under the premise of health,” aided the Chinese to keep a lid on the truth? Sanctity of life is not one of their top concerns, but politics is, just like Acosta and his ilk.

“In naming the disease COVID-19, the World Health Organization specifically avoided mentioning Wuhan,” wrote Shadi Hamid. “Yet in de-emphasizing where the epidemic began (something China has been aggressively pushing for), we run the risk of obscuring Beijing’s role in letting the disease spread beyond its borders.”

Wanna know why China’s coronavirus numbers are now at zero? Because the country of origin is simply not testing anymore. Ah, collectivism at its finest.

Just ignore the fact that Wuhan hosted a family-style communal meal after the initial outbreak had occurred. “Grab your chopsticks and dig in, and we’ll handle the enemies of the people, dear comrades,” Chinese officials assured citizens as a way to save face, all while willfully spreading the virus among their populace, and censoring, detaining, and even killing any doctor or citizen-journalist who dissented to the cover-up.

And now, the pernicious press is scourging Trump for saying “Chinese virus.” Nope, they say you can’t talk about the culpability of the Chinese government and its globalist apologists. Otherwise … well, you know the old drill.

“It’s not racist at all. No, not at all,” Trump stated emphatically when questioned by PC propagandists about his perceived insensitivity. And why? “It comes from China, that’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.” Funny that it is precisely inaccuracy that ails America, and coronavirus is finally revealing the deep-seated sickness, for which the bitter pill of reality is the prescription.

Be sure to check out part 2.

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Comments

  1. Terri Touchet

    1968 Hong Kong Flu. 1956 Asian flu. 1910 Cholera originated in India. 1889 Asiatic flu. 1852 Choler India. The plague suspected to have started in China. Everyone knows that the current pandemic originated in Wuhan. EVERYONE

    1. Dissident Mama

      It’s all such a diversion to keep people from waking up to what’s really happening: the empire is gasping for breath, globalism has failed, and in GDP we trust hasn’t worked out so well. The house of cards is coming down while opportunists rant about muh racism. Who freakin’ cares?!

      1. Terri Touchet

        I hope this all akin to Tulsi ending Kamala’s run for tyrant. But the indoctrination is strong. How could any plebian think that they belong to the same country club as the ruling elite, tribalism…more like stockholm syndrome.

        1. Dissident Mama

          Agreed. It is a huge problem, and reminds me of what my hubby said (to me a year ago and has, of course, since reiterated). Because of its fractional-reserve banking, debt leveraging, welfare/warfare statism, diversity by force, atomized people, cultural Marxism, and totalitarian rule by truly evil people, the untenable American system of false freedom and false prosperity can go one of two ways: the way of the police state or the way decentralization. Obviously, I am pulling for the latter. But either way, the party’s coming to an end.

  2. Daithi Dubh

    Maybe it’s because I live in an at least semi-rural part of flyover country, but I haven’t seen too much mindlessness right around here yet. But I do sense that there’s a general lack of trust in the Establishment, be it the media, academia, or the political order. I’m still afraid, however, that folks will, at least initially, be so focused on getting their checks, that they won’t reflect on where it all comes from or what the overarching, long-term effects will be.

    But, as you indicate in your article, the system is being exposed in all its malign impotence, and even the most obtuse will see it for what it is. No indeed, this does not bode well for the globalist imperial system!

    1. Dissident Mama

      Americans are truly obsessed with the economy because no one saves for a rainy day because they were taught that consumerism and debt was the American dream. Well, the gravy train is coming to an end. It’s simple math, so “recovery” money will only last so long. When people are taking wheelbarrows of cash out to buy simple items or their credit cards stop working or the banks close, all hell’s gonna break loose. There’s no real money anymore, and as you know, that’s what our empire is built upon. Illusions and immediacy. And when the great empire falls, so does foreign aid and illegals and legals sending remittances back to their home countries, which is often half the GDP of some 3rd-world nations. The ripple effects will be felt by everyone, even smart rural folks. I agree that many people are still so wrapped up in Murica’s economic and false-prosperity charade, but it’s a paper tiger and reality will have the last bite. No one will be able to escape the “long-term effects,” and that’s when our grand multicultural experiment will show itself for the danger that it is. Tribalism’s gonna soon be cool again, even for white folks.

      1. Daithi Dubh

        DM, I’ve been forwarding a good many of your articles to other like-minded compatriots. Keep up the skeer! (As if I actually have to urge you to do that! ; ) ).

  3. a Texas libertarian

    I don’t know about you guys, but I’m enjoying my #coronavacation. Working from home. Spending extra time with my wife and daughter. Watering my plants. Cleaning up the patio. Cleaning out my storage closet. Washing the vehicles. Watching America lose it’s collective mind over a virus half as deadly (or less) as the seasonal flu, which we deal with every year without batting an eye. It really is amazing what can be accomplished by modern propaganda.

    I think Dr. Ron Paul nailed it, when he speculated that this is all a big hoax. Sure the virus is real, and real people are dying. But thousands of people die every week in America. Where’s the panic over this? Whether the virus was engineered as a bioweapon or not is uncertain, but whether this panic has been the result of a deliberate and massive social engineering campaign is not. Herein lies the true art of the elite.

    People should ask themselves whether this coronavirus “pandemic” could
    be a big hoax, with the actual danger of the disease massively
    exaggerated by those who seek to profit – financially or politically –
    from the ensuing panic.

    That is not to say the disease is
    harmless. Without question people will die from coronavirus. Those in
    vulnerable categories should take precautions to limit their risk of
    exposure. But we have seen this movie before. Government over-hypes a
    threat as an excuse to grab more of our freedoms. When the “threat” is
    over, however, they never give us our freedoms back.

    But this is a desperate move on their part (they cannot stomach another 4 years of Trump), and like you, I think it is going to backfire. This is the beginning of widespread homeschooling, which will create closer, stronger and more independent families much less willing to heed the dictates of the radical state. That’s my hope in all this. My silver lining.

    See here for death rate explanation:

    1. Dissident Mama

      TL, I knew we’d eventually disagree and today’s the day! 🙂

      I believe 100% that if the feds could snap their fingers and go back pre-coronavirus, they would. If this was a hoax, which I firmly believe it is not, it has indeed gotten away from our overlords to a degree that seriously harms their fiefdoms. Unless a person has an IQ of 50 or is just a died-in-the-wool leftist (are those synonymous?), it’s unavoidable to see that this disaster has only been worsened by government ineptitude, systemic lunacy, and now their predictable opportunism. All their rules and regulations and oversight and nanny-satism and politicization have made them look like complete fools! In fact, I agree with Stossel – that this pandemic wouldn’t even be a disaster here in Murica if the central authority had just gotten the hell out of the way. All their elite-generated madness and self-serving grandstanding is offering up an unforgettable opportunity for normal folks to see just how evil Washington is and how much better life would be under just local and state governance. Sure, not all mayors and governors are doing things perfectly, but many are now thinking strictly about their unique cities and states, not “the nation.” It’s the principle of the “empires of liberty” that Jefferson talked about, “ward republics” that function best when governed closer to home. Ya know, that federalism stuff that you and I have been preaching for years. For those who don’t “see” the disease, they will go down with the ship. Period. And even though Americans have short memories, I really think that this will be an exception to that rule, the trigger that FINALLY wakes people from their slumber of false prosperity and fictional freedom, an indelible memory for the ages.

      On a separate note, I’ve been getting a lot done myself. Done some gardening, lots of blogging, had some family board-game nights, and have even picked up my dusty guitar again. I’m working on “I’m a Good Ol’ Rebel,” so maybe I’ll share it with the world once I get it fine-tuned.

      Take care, brother. Stay safe and healthy, and keep loving on those fine ladies of yours. Deo vindice!

      https://youtu.be/v_2omrmqPNs

      1. a Texas libertarian

        “If this was a hoax, which I firmly believe it is not, it has indeed gotten away from our overlords…”

        I think the virus was engineered, and I think it’s release was orchestrated, or it was an accidental release which they’ve made a dedicated effort to capitalize upon. Though, like any program of these political sociopaths, it gets away from them and reality punches giant holes in their intended narratives and outcomes, spawning hundreds of unintended consequences along the way, and generally leaving in its wake a mountain of evidence sufficient for any rational, intelligent, and honest person to conclude that these programs are incompetent, insane, and/or evil.

        But since when is the general population good at perceiving this mountain of evidence?

        I think you are giving the general population too much credit. I don’t mean to sound like an elitist. Though I do readily accept that hierarchy and authority exist as a perfectly natural consequence of the human condition, I wouldn’t put myself anywhere near the top of these social structures. Perhaps I believe the things I do by sheer chance, or perhaps the Lord led me to the right sources that would convince me of the merits of the Western tradition of Christendom, polycentric authority, subsidiarity, federalism, and natural law. Either way, I could have become fastened to these ideas, which allow me to perceive the ‘mountains of evidence’ others miss, by forces outside myself and out of my control.

        My point is that however I got ‘here’, most people are not ‘here’. Most people will not see the things you and I are seeing in these events. Just like 2008 was successfully blamed on ‘deregulation’ and ‘the free market’, so too will this be a reason for growing political centralization and advancing policies of collective security at the expense of liberty.

        “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and
        hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless
        series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” – H.L. Mencken

        But we will add some more good folks to our ranks for sure. Each crisis seems to do that. Consider me part of the ‘Crash of 2008’ crowd. As our political order gets worse, more and more good people see their way out of the spell. We can take consolation in that at least.

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