Amerika

The naysayers are at it again…the Omicron variant (South African born) has taken over our public consciousness via media overload.  At every opportunity Dr. Fauci waxes draconian about this so-called new threat to public health.  A mild corona virus (no recorded morbidity as of yet) represents the next menace to the very existence of our nation, so the print and electronic media would have us believe.

Listen up, citizens: live in fear and trembling of the Wuhan special and its offspring.  Don’t be un-American: get vaxed, travel at your own risk in crowded airports, look for symptoms of infection in every nook and cranny.  Ask your dinner guests if they;ve been vaxed — if not, put them in masks.  Dampen the jovial atmosphere of the season. Beware of unmasked strangers at all costs.

Now is the moment of truth.  Can “Omicron” — reportedly a very mild variety of COVID 19 — be what the Democrats need to manipulate the 2022 voting rights laws as they did in 2020?  They can hardly believe their good luck: let’s weaponize the virus again! Nature and propaganda will prevent a recurrence of Trump mania!

From his priestly perch Tony Fauci plays the role of the omniscient virologist who gives us a weekly, sometimes daily overview of the pandemic saga on multiple TV outlets.  He is the go-to guy for flexible medical expertise.   At the end of his career — 81 years old — he is a freshly minted media star.  His every word can shape national policy.  Only in America could an undistinguished bureaucrat inherit such power and fawning admiration.

Rule by fear: this is the woke mantra. On the other hand, fear can be a questionable means of public control. For example, there are fatal car crashes every day — tens of thousands a year, and demonstrably millions over the last few decades.  Nonetheless, we are still allowed to drive with a permit; car manufacturers have not yet been shut down in the interest of public safety.  If this were the case, it would devastate the world economy and create a situation much worse than the viral catastrophe itself.

Driving on Interstate highways is risky business yet we all do it for speed and convenience.  It can be dangerous, of course.  In the late evening, visibility and sobriety are ongoing causes for concern.  No matter, we drive at night because we need to get to our destinations.  The risk factor is much greater after dark.  The car is an indispensable vehicle in spite of potential risks. Fear is subservient to expediency.

The unvaxed dare devils may be imprudent with their own lives but they don’t pose a significant threat to vaccinated people.  However, even the vaccinated members of society can still come down with the virus.  No one is truly out of danger.  The booster shot now protects us from Omicron–so they say.  Mitigation, not elimination of disease has become the primary goal of our medical protocol.

For example, flu shots are only partially effective.  They can’t protect you against all strains of the virus.  If you get the flu, however, its effects are mitigated with vaccination.  It was, at one time, a deadly viral disease with no way to combat its spread (1917-1920 the Spanish flu pandemic).  All things considered, life went on and cities were not closed down for prophylactic reasons. Deadly risks were assumed with some degree of trepidation. Throughout history the bubonic plague has decimated populations but somehow life prevailed.  War and pestilence will be our constant companions and yet we survive.

Today you don’t have to show proof that you are vaccinated against influenza when you travel by plane or other transportation.  The authorities view the flu as a manageable risk whereas COVID and its Delta variant are highly communicable and are proven to be lethal in extreme cases.  In airports no one is asked to show proof of vaccination against other very communicable diseases.  These are “tolerable” risks, so we are told.

Many people die at home from accidents.  Going up and down steps can be very dangerous, especially for the elderly yet we don’t ban stairs.  In the majority of houses, we have to go from one floor to another.  Homes cannot be retrofitted into bungalows for safety’s sake.

Bathtubs and soap can also represent serious threats to our personal safety yet millions of people bathe regularly in spite of a statistical risk of falling and being injured.  We willingly assume a minimal risk in the pursuit of cleanliness.

Omicron has cast its shadow over our landscape.  It might be dangerous in the long run but we have no current proof, epidemiologically  speaking, that life in America should be restricted to accommodate its potential harmful effects.  We can be assured that the media will promote its imminent danger to excess.  The virus is their handmaiden of political and emotional control.  Its weaponization will legitimize appeals for election reform to permit those “at risk” to vote in absentia.  Once again, “phantom” ballots will appear among legitimate ones and the electoral books will be cooked at the precinct levels in certain key states.  All to the detriment of many Republican candidates who are reluctant to contest this legal abuse of power whereas Democrats celebrate this opportunity to impose their will.  As Rohm Emmanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, once said: “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

Seized by the fear of potential infection from Omicron, universities are beginning to impose temporary shutdowns before any evidence of imminent danger to staff and students is conclusive (e.g. Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, et al.).  Mass hysteria is in our midst.  Virology is once again driving political choices.

Tags: covid-19, election, omicron, virology