The Saul Alinsky book “Rules for Radicals” makes the point that a radical should never let a good crisis go to waste. Never have we seen a clearer example of adherence to this rule than during this pandemic.
Gretchen Whitmer, as much as any political figure, exemplifies putting this rule into practice. Initially she conformed to the law of Michigan but when she asked the legislature to extend her powers and it declined, she unilaterally acted in contradiction to the law. It did not seem to bother her as she asserted that she alone could declare the emergency and she alone could define when the emergency ended. In the interim she could rule by fiat and her pronouncements were to have the force of law with enforcement by the police.
Now she has doubled down on this by her latest declarations. Schools, businesses, family dinners, restaurants are among the many things regulated by this order. She asserts this is necessary to prevent the spread of the disease and save lives. We also know that lockdowns and closing of businesses, churches and schools also has a very adverse effect. People forgo testing and treatment for other diseases. Suicide rates increase. In June of this year a Center for Disease Control study revealed 1 in 4 adults between 18 and 24 had seriously considered suicide.
Why do we tolerate this? We have been told since birth, or at least a large percentage of the population has, that the government knows best and will take care of you. Just the opposite is true. This pandemic has been the perfect opportunity to use emergency powers to make radical changes to our form of government and way of life. The prime minister of Canada, in an address to the United Nations, said the pandemic is a perfect time for a reset. It is a chance to re-imagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change. What? Shouldn’t the pandemic be a reason to address the pandemic and not some other unrelated agenda? Not if you are a radical.
The Whitmer rules are a means of controlling the populace. Yet, like sheep, we now comply because Whitmer says she knows what’s best. Citizens are scared by the constant drumbeat of news of the disease. As long as citizens are unwilling to resist and fail to demand that we retain all of our constitutional rights, pandemic or not, despots will impose law by fiat that we will have to live with. And their goal has nothing to do with disease and saving lives but is all about power and changing our form of government and economic system.
We fought a revolution to escape such actions and we must be constantly vigilant, or we will soon find we have given up our freedoms forever.
—John Lengemann,
Imlay City
