Dying of Fear

Today got me to thinking. I woke up and realized that 25 years ago today, a tragedy occurred that changed our country and the lives of everyone in the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City forever. The homegrown terrorists, whose names I will not even mention in this blog piece, at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995 set off a bomb outside the federal building which injured approximately 680 people and killed 168 people including children in an on-site daycare. People could hear the bomb go off for miles and when the dust cleared, the devastation left behind had us all staring at our TV's in shocked disbelief. Our quiet spring morning had been disrupted and destroyed by domestic forces who wished to destroy and terrorize with the one goal of causing paralyzing fear and devastation. Their efforts while dedicated did not have their desired effect. Yes, they caused devastation but they also brought about something they could never have imagined in the people they hoped to debilitate with fear.

On that day, they brought about a strength and fearlessness that most of us never knew we even had. First responders and everyday citizens alike, bolted into action on a search and rescue mission while others stood by helping in anyway they could. People from across the country jumped in their vehicles and headed to Oklahoma so that they could offer their services in anyway possible. Those that couldn't be hands on, had hands folded in prayer as we watched the grueling footage of rescues and recoveries. We saw tiny bodies, bloodied and bruised being pulled out of the wreckage and we saw faces of family members, pale, tear streaked and waiting for word on their child, parent or spouse.

In all of it's devastation though, instead of filling us with fear and immobilizing us to run, hide, do nothing and hunker down in perceived "safety", it made us strong. We stood strong for those who had lost their lives that day, for those who had lost people they loved that day and for the state of Oklahoma who was suffering a loss that no state should ever have to endure. We stood strong against terrorism and those who tried to strike a blow against our country as a whole. We were all Oklahoman's that day, but more importantly, we were ALL Americans and we had a long history of standing up and fighting. Fear was not on the agenda...even with the realization that there were those in our own country that hoped to make us fear, make us weak and take us down from within. Were others out to get us? Was travel safe? Were Federal buildings, arena's or large gatherings even safe anymore? We had no idea but NO ONE was going to force us into fear.

Yes, today.....it all came back to me. So that is why I am switching gears and bringing us to the here and now.

Let's talk COVID-19. We are in week 3 or 30 (who can remember at this point) of all but "essential" businesses, schools and people being on lock down. Social media is still flooded with fear and mainstream media is still flooded with inaccurate mortality rates and fear mongering. It appears that gone are the people of 1995 or even the people of 2001, who refused to allow fear to rule them. Instead we have been replaced by an over reactive people who have traded common sense for fear and who refuse to listen to facts preferring a bought and paid for media who can't keep their stories straight. What is worse is that a majority of the people are all too easily ready to trade their constitutional rights for a perceived "feeling" of security in the guise of complete government control. We are no longer strong and fearless, we are weak, scared and ready to be picked off by our enemies. We are not Americans, we are a sad people gearing up to repeat the history of atrocities we swore would never happen again. Wrong....it's happening.

So we spend a lot of time speaking of "essential". Who decides essential? Call me crazy, but in our own way, aren't we ALL essential? Isn't every business whose income that provides a home, food and necessities for a family essential?  Isn't every business who has a payroll that provides for other families essential?  And isn't every business who pays taxes and helps to keep the economy up and running essential? So who has the right to say that you or your business is not essential? Constitutionally....no one, especially not those in government who smile while "hunkering down" and eating ice cream bars while their own actions are systematically destroying the country.

Now let me ask you, after you have come out of hiding, what happens when we finally realize that there are many viruses and flu's which we have REAL numbers on that are far deadlier as a whole than COVID-19? Have we set a precedence that we just never let our lives, our businesses or our economy go back to normal? Do we just remain in the security of our homes, with our hoarded toilet paper.....until we as individuals can no longer afford our homes and the government can no longer afford to continue stimulating the people with government checks?

I have got to ask, when the fearless Americans with common sense and a love of their constitutional rights left the building and these scared, frightened little pod people took over their bodies? This country and the world even, have survived illnesses and diseases much worse than COVID-19 and most without any vaccine to cure them. Bubonic Plague, Cholera, Dysentery, Yellow Fever, Scarlet Fever, Tuberculosis, Polio and yes....the Flu. They all have been contagious, miserable and even deadly and yet the world continued on. Economies didn't fall to the diseases and people built up immunities for many of these diseases while others we were lucky enough to find vaccines for and wipe them out completely. In most cases when these diseases hit, people had enough common sense to quarantine "the sick," or the exposed for the a specific number of days and then life went on. So what is the deal with us?

Someone told me the other day that the problem is that no one wants to die. Huh? Like it or not....that  is happening.....for all of us. None of us gets out a live, but what kind of life do we have if we have to live it in fear and hiding out from COVID-19, the next virus or the flu? The truth is, in the last 25 years, we have had far more deadly diseases run through our country and yes, there were casualties, but never have we over reacted to the point we are at now. Do you ask yourselves why?

The truth I believe is that this whole Corona situation became a very convenient political ploy in an election year. I think a ruined economy and a fearful people are going to have a big effect on a presidential election. I think that there were those who felt they were losing their political holds and COVID came on at the perfect time to make a public with a short memory focus on fear rather than facts and to put all of their thoughts and energy into a virus rather than to what was going on in congress just a few short weeks before. Let's face it, for some, COVID-19 basically erased the slate of  unjust and unconstitutional indiscretions for many. So yeah, there are many in congress relishing this virus, it's effect on the American people and the paycheck they are still collecting while everyone else is worried that they might not be able to pay their bills.

Come on people, surely you haven't lost every ounce of common sense you had and surely we are smart enough to know when we are being played by people we elected. Luckily, some people across the country are starting to wake up and realize that our own congress and heavy handed governors have the potential to be far more dangerous than any virus out there. They are protesting and demanding their constitutional rights, as they and their families rely on them being as essential as anyone else. How are government is handling these protests should be a wake up call to all of us. And here is a question, do you think any citizen of any "free" country ever deemed that their government would take over and they would lose their freedom, their rights and even their lives? Did it happen anyway? You all know the answer and THAT is what should scare you.

Guys, I am not saying that COVID-19 isn't real, isn't contagious and can't kill. However, so is the flu. So are diseases like Polio, mumps and measles that many "choose" not to vaccinate for. And yes, there will be deaths. There will always be deaths because.....people die. But as I said before, even more people may die because of lock-downs. Has it ever occurred to you that mental health crisis and suicides are on the rise during all of this? Addiction relapse is happening at an alarming rate and abuse in families is also rearing it's ugly head. People are losing their jobs, their businesses and in some cases they can't even go for a drive without police deeming them non-essential and arresting them for violating lock-downs. People are starting to feel the constraints of government controlled fear and they are dying or killing because mental health is getting dangerously low. Also the fear that many are carrying because of all of this....have you looked into the devastation that fear and stress can cause on someone's body? The stress from continued reminders by the media that we should be afraid can cause both mental and physical issues that can lead to life long health issues and yes....even death. And finally, what about those people who "follow the rules," and don't leave their homes. What do they do? Many lay around, eat, don't exercise and yes....are getting depressed? What do you think that is doing to peoples health and how many people are going to have life and health altering issues because of this?

Hero's don't run and American's don't hide. They never have. We are strong, we use common sense and we certainly don't play Chicken Little, and yet here we are. COVID-19 is not the first contagious and life threatening virus we have faced down in our history and it won't be the last. What it is though, is the first virus we have allowed to scare us into submission and have allowed to destroy our economy, our way of life and our mental health. And it is the first we are willing to hand over our free will and our constitutional rights for.

I for one am not afraid. I never have been. Yes, I might get it and yes.....I might even die from it, but if I die, I won't go out in fear, because I will know that my last days, weeks and months were not lived in fear. They were lived in strength and joy and I am pretty sure that my 1995 me and my 2001 me, would be very proud. Can you say the same?  I hope so, because too many right now are dying of fear.