Since our overlords are telling us in California we will be unshackled as of June 15th (at least for now), it is time to examine some of the nonsense and distortions of the English language we have endured over the past 15 months.
Being part of a pandemic in 2021 is not the worst thing if you compare it to what it must have been like in 1918. You have deliveries to your door, take-out food from multiple restaurants, Netflix and Amazon Prime to stream endless movies and 57 channels with nothing on. You can take a hot shower every day and don’t have to walk outside to go to the potty. One should always look at the brighter side of life. Yet despite that, there are some sayings that we should never, ever be required to hear again.
Non-Essential Business – Let us lead with the biggest and most diabolical statement made during the time of the pandemic. We all know it and you have probably said it. There is no such thing as a “non-essential business.” At least not in the terms these fully-paid governmental employees are saying.
Yes, making buggy whips is a non-essential business … today. So is Woolworth’s and some other retailers in the current environment. Creative destruction is a part of capitalism. With advancements in technology and customer desires, jobs and businesses become obsolete. People don’t think of how many folks had to shovel the manure off the streets of New York City before automobiles made horse and carriage transportation non-essential.
We made those decisions, not government bureaucrats. To tell people who own a gym that their business is non-essential, the business they built through sweat and sacrifice, is disgusting. To tell barbers, hairstylists and nail salons they are non-essential is just idiotic because you can see how people flocked to those businesses once allowed to by their overlords.
Only a heartless elected official or one of their inept consultants could have come up with this term. It should go the way of the N-word and the C-word.
Stay Safe – This was obviously developed and used by people who never actually faced true danger in their life. The overwhelming majority of people were never threatened by this disease; or, if they were, would have a mild illness. You might say this to people in a nursing home, but they don’t have smart phones to be annoyed by this.
“Stay safe” has its place. If a Hurricane is bearing down on where you live, then that would be a good time to use the phrase. If you were a Jew, Gay or Gypsy in Europe in the 30’s or 40’s, that would be a good time. If you were fighting in the jungles of Viet Nam, that was appropriate then. Or if you lived in Mao Tse-Tung’s China, you really needed that saying. People probably never used it in these examples because they were in real danger of losing their lives.
This statement is being used by people who never actually faced a challenge in their lives, never entered the military or had to police a drug-invested neighborhood. It makes them feel better and gives them a false sense that they are caring people.
Saying “be well” or “take care of yourself” is fine, but this statement crosses the line into the vapid.
The truth is we have no choice – The truth is we always have a choice. This is America. We never have to live without a choice. We can move states. We can do what we want. There is no more offensive statement to be conveyed to a free American by an elected leader or one of their bureaucratic wonks than “We have no choice.”
We’re all in this together – No, we are not. We were never in this together and the people who said that were particularly not in this with us. They never lost their jobs. They were never locked down in their homes. They were never told don’t worry about your business, it will be there when you come back.
On top of it they never sacrificed like we have. The mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, told people she needed a haircut because she is the public face of Chicago and is on national TV. The Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, shipped his family to Florida by private plane while residents of his state could not leave their homes. Then he told the press he remembered a time when comments about family were off limits and they dropped the subject. It is a wonder that anyone still lives in Illinois with leadership like this. The smart ones have left. And the state remained on lockdown long after neighboring states were moving toward freedom.
Long after more than 30 million were filing for unemployment — truly the only non-essential workers in America – many government employees were still drawing full pay and benefits. Nancy Pelosi right on cue proposed a $3 trillion-dollar bill which funds billions of dollars to governments and says it is to protect our firefighters and police. Governor Newsom, trying to fill his bloated government budget with monies from better operated states, said if he does not get federal funds that first responders would be laid off. No mention of cutting government employees who are of no use but to harass hardworking people trying to run a business. Then his coffers got filled with tax bounty from IPO offerings. He never turned down the federal dough.
No, we are most definitely not all in this together and we never were.
We must listen to the Scientists – That is technically correct, but it leaves out the second part of the equation. We don’t have to do what they say we should do.
Scientists provide information. They are not equipped to make public policy. Usually when someone makes this inane statement it is because they are a political hack trying to scare people into doing something they tell us we should be doing, but common sense says we should not.
The CDC and Dr. Fauci have changed the gospel so many times one could get whiplash. The scientific models have been so frequently off that most times they should not be offered.
This may be the most dangerous statement repeated over and over again during the pandemic. The scientists were so frequently wrong it is scary. Sometimes it brought visions of those old Hollywood movies where the tribal meeting was called and the witch doctor in a silly outfit was brought in to tell people what they should do.
Words I hope I never here again – Social Distancing. Face Mask. Super Spreader.
Ideas I never want to hear again – Maybe we should continue wearing face masks. Maybe we will never shake hands again. Both senseless ideas courtesy of Dr. Fauci. Why don’t you suggest we stop hugging also?
Stay Positive – This is actually a good saying, unfortunately being used by pathetic public figures in such a milquetoast way and repeated over and over to minimize its affect.
Here is something positive. Taking back our country from some people who want to control our activities and lives. We live in the greatest country ever created on this planet. People come to the United States to experience our freedom and the manifest existence that leads to a life superior to anywhere else. This is because of our unique freedoms that were delivered to us through God and documented by our country’s founders, particularly in the Bill of Rights. We shall continue that actualization through the strength of our people and their willingness to demand those freedoms be maintained.
The most indelible image of the pandemic will always be the magnificent Brian Stokes Mitchell standing on his balcony singing maybe my favorite song ever (of 1,000s I love) The Impossible Dream to New Yorkers and all Americans. That is what this country is about.
Have faith in the everyday Americans; they will deliver us from this moment back to the life we have all worked to achieve and the country that we so richly deserve.