Jordan Schachtel – April 13, 2021@ American Institute for Economic Research
Editor's Note: There are images in this piece I can't reproduce. Go to the original for the full impact of what the author is saying. RK. As someone with a background in foreign policy and international
affairs, I am often asked to discuss the ramifications of having Joe
Biden as the so-called leader of the Free World.
While it is easy to get carried away debating the merits of a heavily
compromised man being the physical representation of the Free World,
and how cringe worthy and depressing that is, I can’t help but get stuck
on the possibility that the term itself is no longer viable.
“What Free World?”
The Free World is a term that was originally used to describe the
Allied powers during WWII, but it is most applicable here when
discussing what united the anti-Soviet bloc to the United States during
the Cold War. It was these “Western world” values of free speech, free
media, the freedom of assembly, and freedom of association that united
our sovereign states against the evils of Communism.
Covid Mania has turned the world’s sovereign states into one tyranny
after another. And the authoritarian forces of the world won this second
“Cold War” against its citizens without firing a shot. Some appear to
be under the impression that the ruling class, which just finished the
fastest rollup of power in human history, will simply return these
stolen liberties when the “national emergency” comes to an end. I’m not
particularly convinced that this is the case.
As John Adams once said, “But a Constitution of Government once
changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost
forever.”
In the United States, our federalist system allows for pockets of
freedom in places like Florida, Texas, South Dakota and the like. But
dare to protest in the Nation’s Capital today and you’ll quickly find
yourself on an FBI watch list, and almost certainly, with a future date
in our nation’s kangaroo court system. We continue to see authoritarian
states implementing “vaccine passports” and other discriminatory
measures in the name of a virus. Throughout most population centers in
the United States, there are still heavy “Covid restrictions” on society
and the economy. Our nation is no longer united behind these “Free
World” concepts, and they are now only considered virtuous ideas in the
aforementioned pockets of freedom in America. In the rest of the
country, it has been made crystal clear that your rights do not
supersede a disease with a 99.8% recovery rate.
Now observe the devastation in the rest of the Anglosphere:
The United Kingdom has placed its citizens under indefinite
confinement. Their “Covid restrictions” have lasted well over a year,
and there is no end in sight.
Canada, which has also been under a strict lockdown for over a year,
has mutilated the free press while simultaneously transforming into a
Chinese state colony. Under the “leadership” of Justin Trudeau, Canada
has essentially outlawed freedom of movement, free speech, freedom of
religion, and freedom of assembly in the name of a virus.
New Zealand, another nation that is cozying up to Beijing, is
committed to a “Zero Covid” self-siege that has blockaded the island
nation from the world for over a year. Citizens who test positive for
Covid-19 are forcibly sent to quarantine camps. The government has
recently considered legislation punishing people for the act of
acquiring Covid-19.
States in Australia have implemented some of the most intrusive
lockdowns in the world. In Victoria, lockdowns meant citizens were only
allowed to leave their homes for one hour a day, and they were not
allowed to travel outside of a certain radius from their homes. The act
of protesting is illegal, and it will be met by riot police.
As for other NATO members, and other bumper sticker-labeled liberal
democracies in the “Free World,” actual freedoms remain difficult to
identify. Germany, France, and Italy just entered another round of
rights-restricting lockdowns, and countless more “Free World” nations
continue chipping away at personal freedoms.
Making things all the more confusing (and eye opening), people living
in countries long considered adversarial, authoritarian nations (like
Russia, China, Belarus, etc) are enjoying more freedoms than your
average citizen in the West. Belarus never implemented lockdowns.
Russians have treated their restrictions in a very lax manner. China has
been open for well over a year.
The Western values that some of us hold near and dear to our hearts
are not shared by our ruling class. The Free World, as a united force,
was indeed very sick for the better part of the 21st century, but it has
finally died from Covid-19. The concept only lives on in our
imaginations and memories. The Covid era has exposed that these values
that supposedly united the West are nothing more than a facade.
However, there are reasons for optimism. There are millions and
millions of us who have witnessed the atrocities committed by
governments over the course of the past year, and have become
“red-pilled” to the threat posed by these authoritarian forces.
Like-minded people can and will build a new coalition that stands behind
our unalienable rights. Whether that comes in the form of an alliance
of nation states or a more independent movement of citizens around the
world remains to be seen. The demand for the recognition of basic human
freedoms will soon become too obvious to ignore. There are many paths
for a new Free World to emerge, but for now, the old Free World as a
uniting force for Western values is a relic of history.
Reprinted from the author’s blog
Jordan Schachtel is an investigative journalist and foreign policy analyst based in Washington, D.C.
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