Frank Wright on Budding Totalitarians in State Capitals

Some say crisis produces character in leaders. Others say character formation is far more complex and that crisis merely reveals character. Whichever is more likely true, the present pandemic crisis has been a revelation in this regard.

In a season where it looks like protective masks may be our close companions for some time, leftists at all levels of government are taking off the masks of their political disguise. And it’s not a pretty sight. Government overreach never is.

And significantly, in this broad overreach we see a bona fide answer to a great cultural question — one especially consequential for the young. What does a socialist government look like? Well, just take a gander at the pandemic-related actions of far-left leaders in the so-called politically blue states. You and I are witnessing what is, without doubt, the most invasive display of domestic tyranny in our lifetime.

But first, let’s engage in some Monday morning quarterbacking. While admittedly dealing with a highly contagious virus and false or inaccurate data from China’s cover-up, our health officials have been astonishingly wrong with most of the important predictions and prescriptions they have made. Even the highly-touted epidemic model these officials relied upon has failed miserably and has been branded by experts as computer-code junk.

We were told masks are not needed (no, wait: yes, they are). Now we find they seem to work only for those already sick. We were told lockdowns are essential (no, wait: they are mostly ineffective). We were told optimal social distancing is six feet, no five feet, no three feet.

All this failed science notwithstanding, we should be thankful for our government’s efforts during the pandemic. Most have done admirable work with insufficient information and resources. But we should never forget the lessons of the lockdowns. Like Jekyll and Hyde, it was in the lockdowns that the true repressive nature of the leftwing autocrats emerged for all to see.

Click here to read more.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Frank Wright