From Peter Hitchens, brother of the late Christopher:
“Officials and politicians dare not relax the measures they took in a panic, in case they are blamed if anything ever goes wrong afterwards. And millions genuinely believe they are safer as a result.”
What that means is that a series of panics will inevitably cause our freedoms to be ratcheted into oppression via the “concern for security”. And the ratcheting goes one way, irreversibly.
Nothing new here but stated a bit more succinctly.
The ‘keep’em scared, they’re easier to control’ parade has been going on for decades. Anyone here remember alar ? How about radon gas ? Nuclear war ? The list is almost endless.
Scared people will believe, usually embrace and accept almost any ‘solution’ to the crisis of the day if 1) it comes from ‘the authorities’ and 2) the authorities assure the terrified masses that the ‘authorities” solution will solve the ‘problem and no matter how draconian, is temporary and will be nullified once the crisis of the day has passed – usually when the NEXT crisis of the day comes along !
By then the masses have forgotten the first crisis, the ‘solution’ for the first crisis remains in place without a whimper and the masses are now terrified of the ‘new’ crisis and clamor for ANOTHER solution. See how this get perpetuated ! Remember airport security ‘improvements’
after 9/11 ? After 20 years, you’re still standing in line and damn near stripping after already going through how many scanners, X-Rays, sniffers and Lord only knows what else just to get on an airplane. You’re used to it now. No complaints. It keeps us safe, Yeah, right. I still own that bridge I no loner need if anyone is interested.
It NEVER stops – and it never will without ……………………………..
Someday we can tell our grandchildren what America used to be – and how we let it slip through our fingers one grain, one thought, one statement, one crisis, one demonstration about whatever, one useless, meaningless, stupid slogan at a time.
“Politicians are like diapers, they need to be changed often, and for the same reasons.”
– Mark Twain