You'll Always Pay

As the regulatory state grows, remember this: the government that provides you a false sense of security will always exact its pound of flesh. You see, it wasn't always their pound of flesh to demand, but as you gave up more of your rights in exchange for perceived security, they also limited more and more of your freedom in perpetuity. I'm not here to say that the U.S. or other world governments engineered a coronavirus pandemic⁠ for political gain, though I don't believe that contention is out of the question⁠. I am here to say that government leaders all over the world have taken advantage of the current catastrophe to strengthen their grip on positions of power. It is politically expedient for politicians to err on the side of more extreme lockdowns, which are particularly deleterious to the practice of the freedoms of assembly and religion⁠—not to mention the freedom of movement we once enjoyed. So, do you prefer to live in a society where you assess your own risk and secure your own fate, or would you rather submit yourselves to the tender mercies of a government whose administrators are far more concerned with their own well-being than they are with yours? They will secure that pound of flesh you owe, and unlike in the Merchant of Venice, they will shed blood⁠—proverbial or not⁠—in the process.