The medical administrative state has finally got its war, and they intend to fight it forever.
What does “COVID forever” mean? America is a year past the peak of “stop the spread” and “flatten the curve” efforts; we are over two months past the dreaded “second wave”; we have three good vaccines injected into nearly 141 million arms and a fourth one (AstraZeneca) in reserve that we’re sharing with the world. And the CDC is going with “mask your two-year-old.”
I know we pay these people in the medical administrative state to “err on the side of caution.” I heard those exact words last week when “they” quarantined my 11-year-old from school, who already had COVID-19 last October, and has about a 1 in 10,000 chance of reinfection, because he spent more than 15 minutes within 6 feet (masked) of a student who had symptoms and tested positive. Health professionals are paid to keep us safe, no matter what. As long as COVID-19 remains “in the wild” with unvaccinated people who can contract and spread it, “they” are going to tell us to live with “COVID forever.”
That means masks, contact tracing, mandatory quarantines, and living in a dull, Kafka-inspired dreary, risk aversion nightmare, forever. Read this sentence from a Boston Globe article headlined “As hopes rise for pandemic’s close, some are preparing for never-ending COVID.”
But in the medical and biopharma worlds, many are eyeing a more daunting prospect: coronavirus as a never-ending threat.
In retrospect, this was very predictable. During the Cold War, defense companies cemented their position as pre-eminent in federal contracts, because “national security” and a missile gap. After 9/11, the “war on terror” militarized thousands of police departments, created the leviathan Department of Homeland Security, and sparked an 18-year engagement in Afghanistan, and multiple surges in Iraq, and now Syria.
I’m not saying that America didn’t need to fight the Cold War, counter the Soviet Union’s very real plans for world domination, and put an end to their influence. But we all know the Vietnam War was predicated on a massive lie. We all know that, given the power to drive action and to organize the direction of government, the defense cabal over-reached. After all, we pay our soldiers to fight.
This reminds me of the scene in the movie “The Battle of the Bulge” when Col. Martin Hessler told his aide “The best thing possible is happening. The war will go on.”
“On and on and on.” The aide replied, “But it must come to an end.” Hessler goes on to explain “there are many kinds of victory.” This is the attitude of a soldier paid to fight. This is the attitude of a defense contractor paid to make more bombs, more missiles, more radar systems, more counter-missile and counter-radar systems. It must go “on and on and on.”
This is the attitude of those engaged in our fight against terrorism. When Islamic terror is no longer the global threat to mankind, democracy and peace we were told it was in 2003, then we turn to domestic terrorists, Antifa, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Capitol insurrectionists. There must be a war on terror, and it must go “on and on and on.”
(As for Islamic terror, yes it exists, but 1.2 billion Muslims are mostly peacefully living their lives, as are most demonstrators holding “Black Lives Matter” placards and flags, and people who voted for Donald Trump.)
This is the attitude of the folks fighting weather-related emergencies, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters. FEMA always has to have a disaster to fight, because they’re paid to fight disasters.
Now this is the attitude of the medical administrative state, who have been patiently waiting in the background for decades, waiting for a global pandemic, an “Andromeda Strain” to fight. In 2009, we had Swine Flu, which was pretty bad, actually. But most people didn’t see the U.S. Public Health Service front and center, other than a few appearances by the Surgeon General and the CDC. COVID-19 was the Katrina, the 9/11 and the Cuban Missile Crisis all rolled into one for people like Dr. Anthony Fauci.
I give Fauci credit: We pay him to err on the side of caution, and he’s doing his job well. We also pay him to keep people from panicking, which, in February 2020, he did well. The problem was, everyone bet wrong in February 2020, and by March, “panic” was the watchword. America has come out of COVID better than the worst case outcome, but we’re now hearing that it can always get worse, which is a poor message.
No wonder people are reticent to receive their second shot. You get the shot, feel like a dung pile for a day, then return to masks, social distancing, and all the things a vaccine is supposed to liberate you from. And since kids don’t get vaccinated, they are forever a threat and vector to spread the disease. And there are always new “variants.” The medical administrative state wants to fight this war forever.
We elect civil leaders, political leaders, to balance the competing needs of various interests in the country and lead us on a path of reason. President Biden has done little to stem the slide into a medical tyranny.
People protested the Vietnam War. People protested the Iraq War. People protested the violations of privacy, illegal intrusions into our lives and data by the American spy apparatus, and weaponization of the secret FISA courts and FBI to gain political advantage.
When states begin to mandate that two-year-olds and four-year-olds have to wear masks outside, it’s time to protest the never-ending war on COVID.
Eisenhower was right. We must beware the military industrial complex. We must also beware the medical administrative state, which is great when there’s a real emergency, but never knows when it’s time to lay down that power. It’s time for them to lay it down.
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I have a problem with the dismissive and degrading words here for the medical COMMUNITY.
And I have a few corrections:
The masking of two year olds is a recommendation. Not a rule. And it came in March of last year. Have we survived? Yes. So why mock it?
Secondly, the second wave was actually six months ago, not two, and it was bad. It was more than twice as bad actually. A quarter million died. It merely began ending a couple months ago, and mask wearing, distancing, and hygiene was a big part of it. The things with which you’re expressing fatigue.
Fourth, I’m glad the “administrative state” erred on the side of caution with children that can still spread the sickness, whether they had it 9 months ago or not. (No one is known to be immune after having it, and kids are ALWAYS spreaders of sickness... welcome to parenting... just not a deadly one)
You might be getting tired of this. We all are. But there’s too much unqualified, non-medical, dismissive attitude in this country already. The denial crowd doesn’t need an otherwise sensible conservative to give them even more ammunition for their irrational and irresponsible gripes.
Alleging this is a non-stop war without end is simply false, and only serves to breed (more of) an overreaction. When belief and educated fact is already a challenge, why stoke the doubt and amateur feedback loop?
And then this:
“ America has come out of COVID better than the worst case outcome, but we’re now hearing that it can always get worse, which is a poor message.”
My God. Steve, we ARE the “worst case outcome.” And we HAVE NOT “come out of covid,” let alone “better than” anything. It’s just shocking how inaccurate this statement is.
We are still in it, cases are rising again (no thanks to attitudes like this), and we have nearly 600,000 dead in a year, millions hospitalized or bedridden, and tens of millions affected. Hundreds of thousands - like me - are still dealing with the after-effects, even after a life of having never been sick before. This unpredictable disease is getting more well known by the day, and we’re making strides. But acting like it’s over is not just false, but dangerous.
So yeah, find this article to be bothersome. Not because I merely “disagree.” I can do that amicably, and have. But the public health implications of encouraging doubt and denial is literally killing people. I side with doctors, and science. So I find it impossible to not aggressively go after nonsense like this. I’m so tired of people rejecting the very simple solutions that allow us to have a normal life. A mask doesn’t end my freedom. And global pandemics are a real threat. Just fricken do it, people. 🤷🏻♂️
The worst thing a rational conservative should be doing is throwing out broad and vague terms like “medical administrative state” and comparing it to the Vietnam War. Especially when you use it five times without ever specifically defining it.
That’s not thoughtful or responsible in my view. Please don’t encourage doubt.
I am not sure how or if I should wade in on this topic. Much apples to elephants conversation. This post seems to have hit a nerve, and I find value in reading all of the comments here. It helps me to look at things differently than what may initially reside in my head. And it sounds like all parties have and continue to take all things COVID seriously and directed towards safety. As individuals and families we try our best to navigate COVID by being informed on the science, economics and social aspects involved. We make decisions that we are comfortable with concerning risk and safety. People come to different conclusions on what is best for them, and are free to do so. Discussion on a medical administrative state and COVID fatigue are valid and I can see differing opinions. I do not see Steve's post as promoting anti-vaccination. It had a libertarian feel. Mask wearing and vaccinations will go forward based on science and how individuals determine risk and safety. Individuals guide their lives and some make poor choices and we have to use what tools and voices we have to carry them. I probably added coconuts to the apples and elephants already served.