Tom Riggins: Fearmongering again

The fear campaign is back, caused by COVID returning. You will die from the new Delta variant. Never mind that the facts don’t support that, you must be afraid.

Biden didn’t reach his unscientific and arbitrary vaccination goal, so get vaccinated and mask up, or else. Never mind that if the vaccine works, why must vaccinated people wear masks? If the masks work, why must everyone be vaccinated? We can’t answer that, so we the government will ignore or censor any opposing view or question no matter how well supported. You sheeple must obey, or we will wreak the full force of government upon you. Your fear is the best way for us to bend you to our will.

Meanwhile, the elites will party like it is 1984. Orwell would be proud.

We have just emerged from the greatest violation of civil liberties this country has seen. That includes the necessary restrictions imposed during World War I and World War II. Never has a government dictated where we could or could not go, how we must attire ourselves, and what businesses were considered essential and “allowed” to stay open or non-essential and close. And we allowed that to happen.

So-called private companies have taken it upon themselves to arbitrarily ban “fake” or “false” information from their platforms, recently at the urging of the White House. Yes, they are private companies and there is a federal law known as Section 230 that gives them the same protection as news media against legal action. The caveat is that their platforms must be open to the public and not unduly censored. That is the crux of the Trump class action lawsuit which has been joined by numerous others, including some liberals.

All of that worked so well for government elitists the first time, so why not try it again? Los Angeles apparently buys into that, and maybe it will work. I don’t think rural Nevada will stand for another shutdown or mask mandate, especially as more information becomes known about last year’s great scam perpetrated on Americans. Plus, people are tired of mask requirements when effectiveness thereof and attendant side effects become more known.

Viruses mutate. It is a fact of life. Thus, the new variant of COVID is not surprising, and no doubt there will be more variants. But there is a lot of omitted, censored, and misrepresented information about the Delta variant. For example, it is said that the Delta variant is more contagious, which it appears to be. What is omitted is that it is less dangerous than the original version. The mortality rate is 0.008 percent of confirmed cases. That is less than the original version. When you apply that number to the total U.S. population you are at greater risk of dying in an automobile accident than from the Delta variant.

With that in mind, we individually need to weigh the risk of the disease versus the vaccines. That is not government’s job. As the vaccine becomes more prevalent, more side effects are being found. Those include heart problems and in teens the risk of infertility later. Remember, these are still experimental vaccines despite what the White House says. Likewise, there are effects and problems being found with constant mask wearing, especially in school age children.

I am not advocating for or against getting vaccinated. That should be your choice, not Biden’s. But it should be an informed choice, which means that the information should come from reliable sources. Those sources might not be the ones the White House or social media platforms deem acceptable. Likewise, the choice to have children vaccinated should be accompanied by accurate information about the benefits and potential side effects.

I am against mandatory mask wearing. Common sense and data point to masks being ineffective in filtering viruses and may actually contribute to viral spread. That said, if you want to wear a mask by all means do so. Just don’t expect everyone else to. The government has no business dictating such mandates. Likewise, if you as a private business want to require masks in your establishment you are free to do so. At least as long as no government has dictated, forced, or extorted you into doing so.

Remember Franklin’s wisdom, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” We are at a crossroads in this country. Our liberties are being eroded at every turn. It is time to take a stand.