I screwed up the quotes on my previous post. I was trying to quote something different. After posting, I saw this response which must have been submitted while I was writing.
The concept of a government mandating who I can and cannot visit, come into contact with, or hug, is an egregious thought to me. Just think about that for a second:
You arrive at your girlfriends house and you just so happen to give loving hugs to her kids who adore and love you. You also just so happen to do so in view of a nosy neighbor who contacts the RCMP... They proceed to haul you away to jail. That sounds like something that would happen in North Korea.
Cowardice is the act of a wilful evasion of reality. If your girlfriend and her child really has value to you, then nothing should stop you hugging them, nor they hugging you. What you are engaged in is an an act of willing self-sacrifice which you hold as altruism/duty and therefore good. In fact what you are really doing is rejecting yourself by denying your values. Your act of self-sacrificial altruism, is the sanction of the victim to be the meal in the cannibals cooking pot and expecting everyone else to meekly step into that pot because you were selfless enough to do so, is immoral to the point of evil. Here’s hoping you are never in a position to exercise power over other people’s lives, because, God help them.
How many times have you personally broken the speed limit by 1km/h or more on a Highway in the last 5 years? Simple question, simple answer required.
If once or more, you’re happy to impose that “undue risk” of death - which the law prohibits you doing - on others and yourself. More people die because of road accidents than COVID-19. You are an imbecile and a coward for not seeing your partner and the child. If you have broken the speed limit on a Highway more once in the last five years, you are also a hypocrite regarding your own principles. And if you avoid answering the question, you’ve just doubled-down on your cowardice. Well played Sir.
So we can all safely say that the child you see in the mirror every day agrees with your course of action. Excellent.
In other words, conditional courage when the collective or the gubmint says it's OK.
Courage is an intrinsic characteristic and behavior, not an extrinsic and permitted act. What you described is merely following the herd of other sheep or the barking herd dog telling you it's OK to group up again.
What in the Hell has happened to the Canadians?
During my morning read, I laughed when I read it. Bold is mine "Astrid Hedin, a senior lecturer at Malmö University who focuses on Swedish politics, said people are confident in the strategy because of how it is being communicated.
"I don't think that Swedes trust expertise or authorities blindly. Quite the reverse, we trust them when they reason and explain – which the Public Health Agency has been doing daily since the start of the crisis."
She added: "I think the attitude of the Public Health Agency is very important here. They have not presented themselves as infallible. Quite the reverse, they have emphasized that if any other country finds ways to address the crisis that seem to be working, Sweden will be quick to follow."
This is an important article.
The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity : COVID-19 Puts Spotlight on Science -- but Scientists Often Lie