 A year ago, the federal government and state governments of the United States of America locked down the greatest country in the world. We the people were told that it was for our own food, for the greater good.
Stay at home, no church, no school, no hugs, no handshakes, no travel, no exercise, no choice. No preventative and normal medical care for anyone. Why? Covid. The “experts” used faulty projections and models to terrify the population into submission instead of leading with authority. Media fueled the panic. Toilet paper disappeared. Supply chains were disrupted globally. Families disintegrated overnight. Singing in choirs was utterly destroyed overnight. The TRUTH: none of the countermeasures delivered as promised. The epidemic and mortality curves of the lockdown leaders are equal or greater than the anti lockdown leaders. We live and we die. This was true before. It will always be true. The mortality rate of the human race is 100%. What happened, whether intentional or not, was the further subjugation of people’s minds and ability to think for themselves. Our bodies fought the battles with Covid. Our minds chose to surrender to the “experts” opinions over our own because we were and are afraid. We the people fell in line. We went along to get along. We dutifully put on our masks and stopped singing our songs of community and connection. The medical crisis is ending now. Science has prevailed with vaccines and synthetic immunity. Those of us that had the actual disease either lived or died like every other disease. The infestation of fear and dependence on government has only begun. The consequences of THIS disease will be far worse over time. Write it down. Follow the science. We the people need community. Masks are bad things both physically and mentally. Not singing in community is catastrophic. The one societal entity that could have fought successfully was the local church. Instead, it largely proved its insignificance and irrelevance and stayed on the sidelines like it has in so many global crises of the past. God is working indeed. He is working individually in hearts and minds. Faith over fear is the answer. Once we accept the astounding authority of God and His power to overcome death, these earthly things become nothing. Governments rise and fall. Churches form and fail. My God is real and present in my day. I am not afraid. I am sorry for when I was afraid. I will strive to NEVER be afraid of death again. You should too.
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 What you do when someone says “I am not okay.” Says a lot about you.
Most people will never answer that way because they don’t trust. They expect judgement, condemnation, fixing, and controlling behaviors to follow such a personal admission. Fear is in charge. What do they most often need? Acceptance, attention, time... relationship and connection. LISTENING and Sitting/serving, maybe studying, eating or just silence. Are you okay? Don’t ask the question if you aren’t prepared to put in the time, sacrificially, to love and serve.  Doctrinally, I do not believe that blanket submission to govt authority coupled with the idea that safety comes from medicine and SCIENCE is correct. Forcing masking for vaccinated, and recovered patients based on nano-risk thinking is misplaced... Locking down ALL of society by force was a terrible failure and a horrific precedent which we the people have allowed.
We have swung the pendulum to politics and science and media WAY off center.... The ONLY path back is Faith over Fear.. but that is NOT popular. never was.. never will be.. such is life. PrinciplesMatter. Practically now and into the future. Be not afraid means something powerful and profound. Best thing I’ve heard from a pulpit in a while. I’ve added my take of course...
2019- year the media and “culture” said to cancel the negative people. Don’t do anything with them. Those realists are just negative Nellies. Everything will be fine as soon as the negative voices are gone. 2020- the year where we were all encouraged to shout down the positive hopeful people because the world was ending and system is deplorable. Their support for standing up and singing loud and proud is a radical position. Hunker down and look out for yourself above all. Socializing is unsafe. If you want to see and be with people you are killing them. Be fearful. 2021- this year we are not supposed to ANYTHING with ANYONE because... there is just too much risk. Be alone. Wait for permission. Someday when it is safe the powers in the know will tell you. I never bought into any of it. I’m sorry for the months in 2020 where I was so flipping afraid. It will not happen again from me. Be. Love. Serve. Repeat. Is not a passive sit back and watch thing done on a video stream or TV. Living is loving and loving is living. Face to face. Hand to hand. Heart to heart.  Faith in God trumps fear, Including fear of viruses and fear of big governments. Fear easily focuses ME exactly on what I view as the ultimate authority AND power in my life at the moment. I choose to use faith as my lens instead, now and into the future. If I remain afraid, I’m not rooted in faith and I’ve chosen poorly. Honestly.
 If you have had Covid19 and recovered you are a central piece in solution. Your immune system is the answer. Your body had fought and won the battle. You are not a carrier, and you will not be a carrier. You are vaccinated. The solution for this crisis is the same as for every pandemic crisis before. Society must stop the transmission of the disease from person to person. Every immune individual is a barrier. We must build enough immunity to stop the spread. This is math. This principle is actual science. That is what the vaccines will do. That is what the “distancing” guidelines do. This is what masking says it does. The reality is that if you have been “vaccinated”.. either by surviving the disease, or by taking a vaccine, there is no longer any reasonable reason for you to continue to distance, or to mask. Basic LOGIC dictates this. The mob screams.. “but you must set an example”… My response is that as an immune survivor, I am an example. My example is the very one that allows for a return to normalcy. If you are under the age of 50 or so.. your chance of mortality from covid is virtually non existent. The vaccine will likely make you sick and have side effects albeit milder and much more controlled than the disease itself. Getting Covid will make you sick. In both cases, your immune system will be charged and YOU ARE THEN PART OF THE SOLUTION. Your immunity is real. You should also be immune to the escalating societal FEAR factors. We the people, particularly the immune, MUST stand against the fear and speak out. We must set an example rooted in safety and freedom. Society needs us now and in the future more than ever. If this “lockdown” safety first, flatten the curve, approach is really about safety, then it must recognize that Covid Recovered is the goal for EVERYONE. If it is about power, and control, and manipulating the people for influence and authority.. then the go along to get along, just do it until it is safe, translates to kneel before the medical authority for the collective greater good. Time will tell US which is true. I suspect it is a both and scenario, and I hope that the immune champions will see through the fog of fear and act accordingly with their example. I plan to do so wherever I can.   Fear mongering is about focusing on what others cannot or should not do because of what you "might" lose...because of wildly speculative models and ideas with faulty logic and flawed assumptions... Hopeful leaders focus on foundations of faith and love... anticipating what we will all gain when we adhere to principles.. rather than principals.  I was in attendance at the school board meeting last night and I witnessed the consequences of fear on fine people. It is devastating. I could see the pain in faces of friends and leaders and so many others. I am sorry for that. I believe that our superintendent and staffing leadership is exemplary. Our School Board members are listening and leading. The efficacy of their decision will be told in results over the next year. Success is not certain with any of our existing paths.
That said... Finding a path forward rooted in principles and priorities is the only way. What we have now is NOT working. Maintaining a focus on the children is paramount in every sense and I’m proud to them leading our school system. I challenge them to their experience even in the face of the withering emotional toll from the fearful. Our culture is in a bad place currently. Poor behaviors and choices are infecting us all but leadership and bold thoughtful steps is the path forward. We must ALL Think outside the box. We MUST Get those kids back into rooms with teachers and trust in the skills and passions of the teachers to find a way. I believe that we cannot continue to allow families and children to burn 🔥 with the farce that is virtual learning 2020. Attendance, equity, special needs, arts, coaching, sports... The public services in these areas are failing daily. Burning is the correct analogy in every sense as families, schools, churches, workplaces and society is coming apart quite literally. Our future is in those children. Our present is with those parents and teachers. We do not have the choice to continue on We will must work together and help. Hard decisions are required. Leaders must lead. We the people must follow and then adjust in the future. This is the only way. Leading includes managing panic and optics and tone actively. Drawing a causal connection to more deaths because of Trump’s decisions and actions is ridiculous politics.
It is deplorable and naive to state that “Trump lied and people died.” The panic and fear kill and the ramifications of the humanitarian crisis are just beginning. Since we are now doing counterfactuals... in retrospect... if Hilary had been in charge things would have been very different and radically worse... such is the way of liars and losers and cowards. Trump is none of those things. With Biden it would have been far far worse. No closed borders in Feb and March is just as a start to how bad things could have been. And to be clear, there is much we could have done better. But hindsight is 2020. Always has been... Actual leaders know this. from Dave Foreman on FB “so Donald Trump made some comments to Bob Woodward in March/April and now everyone is going nuts. Right. I was doing a LOT of analysis back then on who said what when. The CDC, WHO, and government and private groups were desperately trying to make sense of things. EVERYONE was overreacting on too little factual information out of an abundance of caution. What was said one day was contradicted a week or a month later. The president said in a short conversation that the virus was more deadly than the flu and also said he was downplaying it because he did not want to create a panic. THAT IS HIS JOB. Presidents are responsible for managing the mood of the country as the facts unfold. Anyone who tries to act like they 'knew' what was happening is exaggerating. When you are shutting down air travel to other countries, contemplating the death of 2 million of your citizens, and don't really understand the disease yet because your medical team doesn't you say things to calm and sometimes manipulate the public. Remember that the people that want universal masks now were saying we didn't need then then - BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH PPE AND WANTED MEDICAL PEOPLE TO HAVE THE INVENTORY. We have tens of thousands of ventilators now that may never be used because we thought we needed them. I get that if you want to defeat Trump in November or you can't stand the man ANYTHING will be a great reason to further your position. That does not, however, make it true. Various governors and Senators and Mayors said a lot of contradictory things around the same time. That is what panic does.“ The vision to move on with life embracing faith and fellowship over fear and isolation threatens the houses of sand for many in power. Reputation, position, even authority is shifting. A powerful vision. evokes fierce opposition from many who are comfortable and just want to return to how it was “before”.
Our times are a chrysalis. We will emerge and fly soon enough. God is in command and evolving HIs space and time around us as He decides. We are changing and when we live in Him we are remade...literally. EVERYTHING CHANGES. Tutto cambia. Vedo la luce. Will you seek a future filled with faith and hope, rooted in love? Now is the time to decide. Don’t be one of the millions who is acting a part, performing for man rather than worshipping a loving and living God.  Absence of a virtue signal does NOT equal the absence of virtue.
I believe that the masking mania sweeping 2020 is directly connected to the public visual nature of the mask itself. When we as a society decide to assign negative intent to NOT doing something we are assigning a set of moral decisions to that individual which may or may not be true. Individuals make the decisions on what is a valued virtue. The proven results of a practical behavior show its value. Outliers are allowed even if discouraged. In a communist collectivist world view the decisions are made by the assigned authority. This is the root of our current dilemma. The case for or against masking lies at the personal level not at the group level. Mass compliance requires agreement in a free society. The mask of rugged individualism is as porous and likely corrupt as the mask of communism. The difference is an individual bears the consequence of poor decisions in both. We are all now struggling with flying the flag of virtue in public. The rule of law applies and defining what is appropriate and comfortable or even moral and healthy for one and for all is a wasteland of battle flags and casualties. I repeat. The absence of a virtue signal does not equal the absence of virtue. Worry and anxiety kill. Faith, Hope, and Love sustains. Each of us chooses how to LIVE.
Focusing on how to not die each day is a mindset for victims and losers. Worst of all it spreads like a virus. I don’t understand the morbid attraction to suffering and victimization so prevalent in 2020. I speculate that it is perpetuated by #idiotsincharge to facilitate control and compliance. Faith in Jesus Christ and His love and immediate care for us is a vaccine against the virus of fear. The consequences of fear are real in the near term and long term window. Faith and belief secure us now and forever. To believe that science will secure you and save you is the root of foolishness. The only thing worse is to believe that government will somehow secure and save you in the now, near, or far. That is a 2020 hindsight reality check  The population of the US will be immersed in wave after wave of fear responses. The new threat is the fear and isolation itself originally caused by the RONA.
A vaccine will be released and approved. It will be only marginally effective at treating RONA but it will be highly effective at treating the humanitarian crisis of fear and the economic disaster wrought by our lockdown cycles. The vaccine and associated media blitz will make many unimaginably wealthy and be heralded as the savior of the world in our new normal. In reality it will do almost nothing clinically to treat RONA but it will manage the fear. The new normal will be here. As the world turns, we will all move on. <100% speculation> this is not science. This is fiction. The government told you it was dangerous. The government is now telling you it is safe. If you trust the government you should be fine right?!
Perhaps trusting the government and the media is the actual problem with 2020. Think about it. I have a specific and personal view of the #idiotsincharge but I am also bound by my views on Romans 13. As for me and my house... Life. Liberty. Pursuit of happiness. Faith over fear ... trust in God. If you choose to blindly trust and follow the government into fear and subjugation, that is your choice. I strive to not judge. It is very hard.  We are all more than a little afraid of what these leaders will say next. That is the reality of our new normal. One is a leader. One is a follower. One of these is crass bare knuckled and sometimes shocking. The other is scripted programmed and almost always clueless. The question Americans must answer is who is best to get us through the next 4 years. Future requires more than words.
I am not afraid. Past history is not proof of future results but again, one of these is not like the other. Does tone matter? It does. Decisions and actions matter more. some lead, some follow. Being afraid of what someone might say is weak. Suck it up buttercup and hold on for the ride. Buckle up. Gonna be rough.  It is done now. Recovering from the sound and fury is not simple and everyone does it differently. Our societal leaders rang the fear bell in March. We the people responded and hid away from life and one another. We denied our basic needs for community and faith and fellowship and embraced FEAR as our overseer. Authoritarian tendencies were encouraged because it was for the greater good, for public health, to save our most at risk, to save ourselves.
we the people are now afraid. Our fragile hold on trusting one another has been ripped away in most cases. Instead we now rely on the TV, on the Internet, on the government. Dictators and authoritarians know that fear binds us. They use it to manipulate and control us. It is then followed by force. The solution to the sound of fear is the liberty bell. We stand up and sing together of our faith in God, and one another. We must embrace our lives and living in place of fear. We cannot unring the fear bell that our #idiotsincharge rang so recklessly but we can stand together and ring a whole chorus of bells into the future filled with faith, hope, and love. The fear is always there but it can be overcome with faith.  I am pleased that churches are being ALLOWED to reopen their physical facilities. If Walmart, Lowe’s, and food stores can be operated safely, Churches and schools can as well. The arbitrary lockdown for the greater good has passed its time of effectiveness.
Reality is that Elderly, and At Risk members of churches must decide for themselves what the priorities are. We ALL must do this without judgment and condemnation. To continue to lockdown and isolate the healthy and low risk majority is not sustainable or reasonable by my standards. Worship and community fellowship is ESSENTIAL to life. Period. This is how it has always been and how it will always be. You choose what you do and how you do it when free will is prioritized.  The real danger affecting us all right now is fear. Not just any old garden variety fear, but the fear of our fellow man. We are dangerously close to accepting the lie that our fellow man will kill us with contact and regular “life”. Yes, the covid19 virus is dangerous, but it is not as dangerous to the mass majority of our population as we are being told. The fear narrative is the real danger.
This is not the first pandemic in our world, and it is not likely to be that last. Very little has changed, except our fear response. By my calculations, the recovery/survival rate on Covid is something like 99.85%… seriously. Our world has been turned upside down by something that will likely kill one person in a thousand. This death rate is not new. What is new, is this idea that we must avoid contact with our family, our neighbors, and our friends and rely solely on the internet, the media, and the government to keep us connected and safe. THIS IS INSANITY. I WILL NOT COMPLY! Our society flattened the curve here in the US and “saved” the medical system?! What we have done is take a true acute medical crisis, and turn it into a global, catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Disconnecting from one another locally, and trusting some magical central planning authority is the hallmark of authoritarianism and tyrannical dark times throughout history.We know the death rate on these behaviors…. And the recovery rate is NOT 99.9%. Losing connection with our loved ones and neighbors KILLS. Unemployment and dependency KILLS. No one is coming to save you. The media and the governing authorities are using this programmatic fear narrative to gain and maintain control. The roots may be malevolent or incompetent. It does not matter in the end as the result is the same. People will die. The solution is to stand up for yourself, educate yourself, connect with your family, and accept that you were never in control. Go out and live your life as free citizens. Make choices, connect to those that matter, and own the consequences. Our world is going about its business as usual… The people are living and dying. Each of us chooses how we live or die. For this Virginian, Give me liberty or give me death has taken on a whole new meaning when it is applied to my ability to connect physically with my fellow humans.  Right now our health system is on the front lines. Coming very soon, the economic devastation wrought by our Covid19 response will begin to escalate. Abuse, hunger, depression will all flow freely. The government is not best positioned to fight this war.
The local church can and will step into the spotlight. We can help one another. We will help one another. We must set the example beyond words with actions and resources. The LOCAL church has always been on the front lines. It will remain so. Get in the fight and make a difference. You have skills and resources. Use them where you are, how you are. Be. Love. Serve. Repeat. Food, Fellowship, Faith, Friendship... are the FRONT LINES to fight the epidemic of fear, depression, violence, and poverty now and in the near future. We as a society have chosen these problems over the acute fear of Covid19... That decision is behind us, right or wrong. There are new battle lines in front of us. My question is, how will we respond in my church? How will your church respond? Soldiers fight... Step up! Stand and be counted. Christians should not be fearful and must be on the front lines. Onward Christian soldiers.... Our collective path forward must be built on individual choices health and liberty. The reality is that most if not all of the population will be exposed to Covid19 and future versions. Our individual immune systems and behaviors are our best and most effective tools.
Medicine is already developing acute mitigation strategies through drugs and behavioral recommendations but they are only reactive. Until we have prophylactic measures available we cannot be promised or provided safety. We must interact physically moving into the future. As with all disease some will perish. That is a hard reality even if unpopular to “snowflakes” of all flavors. Our current pervasive attitude of fear and isolation is not sustainable and the true efficacy of “social distancing” is unknown. We as a society have helped our healthcare system and now it is time to remember that life is about living. It is not about cowering in our homes under house arrest. Our individual immune systems in collective perspective will provide herd immunity over time. Until then, all we can do is play for time and protect/cherish our liberty. Reopen the USA’s minds NOW!!!  A victimization-based culture is primed for a fear pandemic. Rather than preparing reasonably and rationally, it blames others for that which was inevitable. Fear spreads in this emotional, dependency based model like wildfire. The irrational pendulum swing between govt is savior and govt is the devil naturally follows. IF the government is of the people by the people for the people it is flawed as these people. Fear, identity politics and the illusions of control and command are toxic to actual progress. The virus wins.
The US founding fathers understood this reality better than we do. What did they do? Individual accountability, with a republic allowing for common defense and good, and a Constitution explain it all. They didn’t play the victim game. They stood together to fight separately but together. |
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