Stan Lefco

DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE

            Described as the “celebrity physician” by The New York Times, Dr. Mehmet Oz is running for U.S. senator in Pennsylvania. In an appeal to conservative voters on the hot-button subjects of vaccines and Covid-19, he has claimed that the “people in charge…took away our freedom.” (He also favored reopening schools since it might be worth the increased number of deaths: “only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality.” Surely, patriotic families are willing to lose a member for the better good.) We are not sure who the “people” are, but they must be Democrats since he is running as a Republican. We are not sure what “freedom,” but if there is something you did in 2019 and cannot do now, that must be the freedom.

            Our democracy is in peril. (Source: Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, declared, “I believe America is in peril.” That works for me. ). Over too many years our sacred and fragile rights have been slowly taken from us. They (the people?) took our money when they enacted tax laws. (Read the Revenue Act of 1862.) When we were not looking and watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and The Hallmark Chanel, they removed deductions such as interest on credit cards, which increased our taxes. They want to tax our inheritance. (In 2021 the exemption was only $11.7 million.) We cannot let them do this or is it too late? Or does it matter? We do not necessarily recommend an insurrection. (January 6? Or was it just agitated tourists, who didn’t have tickets for the Lincoln Memorial?). Sometimes the War of 1812 and Custer’s Last Stand are fondly recalled.

            Let’s look at some of the ways the infamous people in charge have taken away our freedoms, not to mention our liberties and right to assemble peaceably or walk in single file.

            If we are injured in a car accident, not at fault, i.e., not guilty, and want to sue, we only have two years to do so. If we do not meet the deadline the people in charge artificially made, we are out of luck. What if we forget,  are sick, are in the hospital because of the accident, on vacation in Latvia or Monrovia or the Ukraine, or overslept (Thank you, Alexa.) and miss the deadline, we are out of pocket, not to mention all the pain and suffering, and pending bankruptcy due to the mounting medical bills and lost income because we could not work and homelessness because we couldn’t pay the mortgage or rent or electric bill. And we had to sell our Peloton. That is not fair. Maybe we do not have the money to pay for a lawyer at the time even if she only wants us to pay court costs, postage, and the annoying miscellaneous expenses.  It is unconstitutional. You have read the Constitution? (We the people…THE PEOPLE!!???) We should have the right to sue when we are ready to sue, feel like it,  are in the mood or have the money, including the gift card we bought at the supermarket six years ago.  Money is not cheap, even if you use PayPal or a debit card on an account, which was closed for having a zero balance for two years.  It does not even buy happiness or a first class stamp, but who mails letters anymore?

            What if we do not like to wear a seat belt since we find it constraining, confining and uncomfortable? We like to move around and stretch, sit up, jump around, chew gum, text, or clean our gruel-filled ears with a paper clip.  “They” make us buckle up, because they tell us it will save our lives. We demand proof. Show us an audit.  Our life is our business, and we should be able to make the decision how we want to live it, when and how we want to end it or just mangle some organs. We are prepared to lose a liver or a kidney.  It is unconstitutional to force us into this involuntary bondage. We want to be able to twist and shout. And turn up the radio so the driver four car lengths away can hear what we are playing and why we are losing our hearing and why we love the Four Seasons. Big girls don’t cry.

            If we own real property (as opposed to personal property), we are restricted  on how we can build on it—even if it has a mortgage.  If we want to build a house, it has to be so many feet from the property line. We should have the right to build up to the property line like an electrified, barbed-wire fence with turrets and spot lights and cameras to make sure our neighbors mow their grass and cut their shrubs. We own the land up to the line, and we should be able to build up to that line. It is our property, and we have the right to do with our property as we wish. We paid for that property with our hard-earned money. Or was it from the sale of stock or just passive dividends? They have no right to make the rules. We elected them and they are our representatives and should act for us and not against us and protect us. (Did someone say lobbyists?) Give us liberty or give us death. It is taking our property without an opportunity to voice our rights. It is unconstitutional. Remember this land is our land and so on. What happened to due process?

            They post signs everywhere telling us how fast we can drive. One street sign mandates 45 miles per hour and, when you turn the corner, it’s 35 mph and then down the street it’s 25 mph. It can drive one crazy so we drive crazy. Maybe we are crazy. We buy these expensive machines known as cars in polite company that can go over 100 mph. We should be able to see if the speedometer works whenever we feel like putting them to the test. What is the purpose of the speedometer, showing 100 mph in the first place?  If we feel like driving 70 mph on a 35 mph posted street, it is our right. In the words of Dr. Oz, who is not related to the Wizard, they are taking away our freedom. As long as we are careful, no one is going to be hurt. Not yet, anyway. We watch the car commercials just like everyone else, because there are so, so many of them, and they are so loud, no matter that they say. Those magnificent machines with their ridiculous names (Leaf is truly a dumb name. Tundra? Duh? ) take those street curves and desert straight aways with swirling sands with ease, and stop on a dime. It could be a nickel with Mr. Jefferson’s likeness.  We buy these vehicles not only for their luxury, but the right to see just how fast they really can go. Leather to the pedal! (The truth is most of us will not take public transportation no matter.)

            If we want to throw our empty coffee and soda cups and ketchup-stained paper bags out our car windows (We suggest you roll down the window first.), that’s our right. Beer cans and half-eaten pizza with olives included. We pay taxes on reported income to keep our streets clean and pot holes nice and deep. Garbage is our American heritage. Recycle if it suits us. No mandates. It is unconstitutional. Article of your choice. Or the Bill of Rights if you can name one.

            And Covid-19, finally. They want to mandate that we get vaccinated to save our lives and those of others like family, friends, co-workers, and people we would not invite to lunch or meet over lattes at different tables at Starbucks.  We should have the right to decide what goes in our bodies and by whom but maybe now how. (Senator Johnson said he will not get vaccinated and, if you gargle with mouthwash, it could help stop the transmission of the virus. He also likes his kool-aid with Velveeta cheese.) If we want to get sick, that is our choice. If others get sick because of us, that is our choice and their problem.  That’s why we have doctors, nurses, hospitals, doc-in-the-boxes, and ventilators made in China. A well-oiled ventilator beats a Covid shot any day. They are there to make us well. Who needs herd immunity? We do not want to be told to wear masks and social distance. No one has the right to tell us how to party, including going on cruises to watch whales frolic.

            There are those that say this will be the new norm of new variants, mask wearing, social distancing, people getting sick, working from home, and dying in batches in a cold storage truck. That’s because unvaccinated people will get Covid, get sick, spread the disease and some of us will check out before our time. That is not our problem. Anything to the contrary is unconstitutional. Hail to the chief! As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We have only to fear ourselves.”

stan m lefco February 9, 2022