While you were looking at news stories about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on Friday, Biden extended the U.S. national emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming from the top, this is essentially a blanket green light for local and state governments to continue their Covid restrictions. The contrast between seeing explosions in Kyiv, an actual emergency, and the continuation of Covidstan is like shoveling up a pile of manure and throwing it down on a marble floor. Shit may not be hitting the flor, but it damn sure is hitting the fan, and it’s only a surprise to people who haven’t been paying attention.
After leaving active duty in the U.S. Army in 2018, I accepted a position working at a directorate level of the U.S. Army at the Pentagon. In a matter of about five years, my perspective of this world changed forever. My eyes opened up to the strategic chess matches taking place globally. It’s one thing to hear about the strategic chess matches taking place; it’s another thing entirely to see the chess moves at the highest levels of our Department of Defense.
Because of my career choice, friends and family often asked me about my thoughts on our position strategically in the world, our most significant threats, and what we should be doing to counter them. Rather than shout “China” at the top of my lungs, I usually discussed the 30,000-foot view of our geopolitical position. You don’t need to be a history buff to understand that borders have been shifting for most of world history. Up until this past century, the world rarely saw much stability, not nearly to the degree we have enjoyed for most of our lives. It led to us growing weak. Maybe that’s why people are so obsessed with canceling others rather than learning how to start a fire with flint and steel, but I digress.
The stability we have enjoyed is an illusion. It’s not real. The world is not a place where peace is even realistic. It’s a competition, and competitions culminate at some point. Leaders and close followers jostle back and forth over time. The only certainty is that war will come; it may not look the same each generation, but it’s coming whether you like it or not. In the case of China, they already behave as though they are at war, but not of the kinetic variety. One could argue that Covid has been one hell of a weapon, possibly the most effective non-kinetic weapon in human history, assuming they have some culpability in the leak of this virus. (They do)
My point here is that the world we grew comfortable with will shift, and it’s going to involve death. In this case, Ukrainians are on the front lines, but we’re all on the front lines regarding Covid, tyranny, and the never-ending power grabs. As Biden renews the U.S. national emergency declaration for Covid-19, keep in mind this perspective of what an actual emergency looks is. The world can get much worse than what we are experiencing right now. It’s easier to step up now than it is to let the invasion come to your doorstep, thus sentencing your children or grandchildren to fight real battles you were too comfortable to push back on. Deterrence is effective both against foreign invaders and our government. Bullies are more afraid of getting punched in the nose than they are of wimps.
In a comfortable society, we are privileged to worry about nonsense. Third-wave feminism, woke TikTok, social media likes, cancel culture, pronouns, etc. On Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, most of us have primarily taken care of the physiological and safety needs. The vast majority of people reside somewhere in the middle of this chart, but sometimes people need to feel what it’s like at the bottom to understand how fragile this mortal life we live can be. We are too damned comfy with our F150 trucks, favorite sports teams, the four walls of our homes, and our favorite podcasts. Last I checked, we all have a heartbeat, but it’s not guaranteed to keep ticking any more than we are certified as a country to keep enjoying our freedoms.
While I feel for the people of Ukraine, my mind cannot help but wander to what is happening back home. Indefinite emergency powers, frozen bank accounts, politicized federal agencies, mass censorship, Covid-forever cultists, institutional decay, and culture rot. Our wars are taking their toll on us, and we have no time left. As alerts pop up on your phone about Ukraine, it serves as a sobering reminder - one from which you can't remain insulated if your life depends upon it: nothing will improve unless changes are made firsthand. We are in control of our destiny. The cavalry ain't coming, friends. If we want answers to Covid, it's on us. If we want restrictions to end, it's on us. Like an abusive relationship, it is whatever we allow it to be. Feebleness is the reason Ukraine is under attack, and frankly, it's why our entire way of life has been under attack for the last two years.