It’s Not Okay

By Peter Pavarini

As another year draws to a close – unlike any I’ve ever experienced – it’s tempting to wonder whether we’ve finally reached that long-anticipated tipping point.

Personally, I don’t draw much comfort from recent public opinion polls. Regardless of their ideological bent, all polls are just snapshots in time. Even the best can’t possibly account for the multitude of factors that go into shaping public opinion. There’s also a huge delta between what people say and what they truly believe. A lifetime of experience isn’t easily altered by absorbing a year of “news”, no matter the source.

Renewing the American Psyche

Therefore, I’ve pondered what it would take to dramatically renew the American psyche. If people are as polarized as the media says, is there anything that would unquestionably bring us together again? Is it possible for the United States of America to be unified as it briefly was after September 11, 2001?

Some have suggested that only an eternal threat no one can be blamed for would be required for that to happen. For example, would an Independence Day-style extraterrestrial invasion or a 6-mile-wide asteroid headed directly at Earth be enough to bring everyone to their senses? Even then, how long would it take before we become divided on how to deal with such a calamity? A few days? A few hours?

Perhaps there’s a better way to rebuild a common ethos – one that wouldn’t require an extinction event. Regrettably, every idea I’ve come up with depends upon having an agreed set of facts. That’s probably a non-starter for those who contend “your truth is not my truth”. But even in such a sharply divided populace, surely there remain some things most people agree are “not okay”.[i]

What We’ve Been Subjected to in 2021

Imagine for a moment an America where there are no political parties, no Trump Derangement Syndrome, and no propaganda posing as objective news. Imagine us being just 340 million or so individuals who haven’t been divided into tribes, teams or other factions. Wouldn’t most Americans (regardless of their socio-economic status, racial/ethnic identity, sexual orientation, or any other identity) have a problem with some of the things we’ve been subjected to in 2021? Wouldn’t most agree that it’s simply not okay:

1. That experimental COVID vaccines are being forced on children as young as 2 years old despite evidence that these vaccines pose a health risk to children that is 7 to 40 times greater than COVID itself.[ii]
2. That despite $6 billion being appropriated by Congress to construct a wall along our southern border, U.S. taxpayers are now paying $3 million a day in contract penalties not to build that barrier. Meanwhile, piles of unused materials rust in the open air as millions of migrants cross the border unchecked.[iii]
3. That research studies filed with the FDA to gain emergency authorization of the COVID vaccines will not be released to the public for up to 75 years.[iv]
4. That the USS Milwaukee, a Naval combat ship with a crew of over 100 sailors, has been kept in port because a small number of crew members who were 100% vaccinated have tested positive for COVID with mild or no symptoms.[v] This is only one of many examples of our military’s state of unpreparedness at a time foreign adversaries threaten to invade countries like Ukraine and Taiwan.
5. That, despite billions of dollars appropriated by Congress in 2021 for transportation infrastructure improvements, hundreds of bridges and miles of roadway are intentionally being allowed to fall apart. Necessary repairs are being blocked by a US Department of Transportation focused on promoting driverless electric vehicles and a theoretical network of high-speed railroads.
6. That tech companies like Amazon can legally delete 100% of the book reviews with less than 5 stars for CCP publications such as a collection of Xi Jinping’s speeches and writings.[vi]
7. That Democrat Assemblyman Nick Perry introduced A416, a bill that would allow New York State to confine indefinitely all unvaccinated people.
8. That the deputy warden responsible for jailing protestors arrested after the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol has repeatedly tweeted that white Trump supporters need to go “extinct”. The individual in question has had oversight of the beatings, neglect and solitary confinement endured by the protestors while being held without bail for nearly a year.
9. That on October 25, 2021, the Biden Administration nixed a proposal to have 732 million home COVID test kits made available before this holiday season – in favor of doubling down on vaccinations and boosters. Even after the Omicron variant emerged in November, the federal government has continued its “vaccine-only approach” despite evidence that testing was critical to an effective public health response.[vii]
10. That 72 Senators and 302 Congressmen accepted millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry in 2020.
11. That the FBI has stopped selecting investigation targets based upon apparent criminal activity in favor of targets that represent ideology contrary to the political party in control of the Executive Branch.
12. That a military withdrawal from Afghanistan, although supported by the majority of Americans, was botched – stranding thousands of our citizens and others we promised to protect.
13. That public school teachers in communities across the U.S. have prioritized their own health and safety over the well-being of their students, despite the desperate pleas of tax-paying parents who want their kids to return to in-school classes.
14. That only 1.3% of the COVID response grants made by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to municipalities was spent to acquire protective gear for poll workers and otherwise protect election officials and volunteers against the virus. The rest of the $400 million was spent on salaries, laptops, vehicle rentals and attorney fees, among other things, to allow paid activists to supplant local election officials in 2020.
15. That physicians and other health professionals are compelled to follow political guidelines instead of peer-reviewed science when combatting the COVID pandemic.
16. That the federal government can continue to borrow money at nearly zero interest rates while inflation erodes the value of the principal owed – most of which is owed to the American people.
17. That as many as 4300 commercial airline flights were cancelled over the Christmas weekend because of staffing shortages caused by vaccine mandates and other COVID protocols that sidelined thousands of workers.
18. That the federal crime-fighting assistance rejected by governors and mayors in 2020 in the aftermath of the George Floyd riots is now eagerly sought from the new occupant in the White House.

Things That Should Never Happen in a Modern Constitutional Republic

The entire list of things causing Americans to think our country is on the wrong track is obviously much longer that this, but these eighteen issues were top of mind.  I’m sure you have your own list of things that should never happen in a modern Constitutional republic. Yet, people on both the Right and the Left seem afraid to speak out against government action or inaction they feel helpless to change. The fear of cancellation is a very powerful suppressant. Those in power know that and are willing to disregard the wishes of the citizenry for what they say is the “greater good”. Just how long will the masses put up with such government incompetence if not intentional mischief?

If history teaches us anything, all governments are eventually replaced by another form of social order. Occasionally that’s done in a relatively peaceful, orderly fashion. More often, however, regime change only comes via a major political upheaval.

Are we there yet? The answer lies in when enough of us conclude things can no longer continue the way they are.

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[i] Only 30% of likely U.S. voters think the country is presently headed in the right direction. “Right Direction or Wrong Track”, www.rasmussenreports.com, December 20, 2021. Although they may reach that conclusion for different reasons, their dissatisfaction with the state of the Nation centers around many of the same variables (e.g., economy, pandemic, national security).

[ii] MedCheck, Japan Institute of Pharmocovigilance.

[iii] The State of Texas has offered to build the wall with its own funds, but the U.S. government has refused to release these abandoned materials to state officials.

[iv] This issue is currently being litigated, but it is obvious that the timeframe for producing the data requested ensures that no one alive today will be alive when the FDA honors the FOIA request in question.

[v] NewsMax, December 24, 2021.

[vi] Natalie Winters, “Amazon Deletes Reviews Critical of CCP Books”, National Pulse, December 24, 2021.

[vii][vii] Katherine Eban, “The Biden Administration Rejected October Proposal for Free Rapid Tests for the Holidays”, Vanity Fair, December 23, 2021.