Sheep and fear

What is it then that disturbs and terrifies the multitude? Is it the tyrant and his guards? I hope that it is not so. It is not possible that what is by nature free can be disturbed by anything else, or hindered by any other thing than by itself. But it is a man’s own opinions which disturb him: for when the tyrant says to a man, “I will chain your leg,” he who values his leg says, “Do not; have pity.” But he who values his own will says, “If it appears more advantageous to you, chain it.” ~Epictetus

In the last three years, and the past 15 months in particular, I’ve begun to identify more closely with the skeptics and black sheep of the intellectual world.

The conspiracy theorists appear correct about a great many things, from COVID to government and political hoaxes and beyond. Where they have yet to be proven right are subjects where truth is still hidden, or the mainstream narrative has sufficiently departed from a reality that will never be recaptured by the general public.

My trust in politicians, physicians, scientists, and economists is all but evaporated.

Any sociopath that has risen to power in the last 100 years has done so wielding fear as the primary weapon. Hitler capitalized on a desperate economy that faced hyperinflation. They needed a savior, and that longing permitted German citizens to believe in all of the wrong things.

Consider COVID. The narrative of this unknown virus dropping people dead in the streets led to lockdowns, mask mandates, travel restrictions, remote learning for kids, and, for some, forced vaccinations.

Now, climate change alarmism has pushed Oxford, England into becoming a “15-minute city” where residents and outsiders are financially dinged for traveling too much or too often around the city. You know it’s concerning because Bloomberg, as every mainstream outlet did with COVID, is attacking opponents of the policy as conspiracy theorists.

At this point, there are few better endorsements of a position that Bloomberg railing against it, in my mind.

My hope is that more and more people read these types of headlines and, instead of reading it as, “right-wing conspiracy theorists are crazy,” instead ask, “Why is Bloomberg so vehemently attacking freedom-concerned people?”

It’s at least something worth considering.

Fear is easy for those in power to feed upon. They generate the narrative, fund the “research,” and have the big microphone. But to assume that truth or science is settled in general, much less because self-appointed “experts” claim it to be, suggests we’ve become far, far too trusting.

Fear turns us into sheep. It drives us toward a herd mentality. There is comfort in walking unalone, but it often leads down the wrong path.