Never Let A Good Crisis Go to Waste

-Rahm Emanuel.

Every time opportunity arises the powers that be use it to achieve specific objectives. Whether it is 9/11, financial crises or the purported pandemic sweeping the world. The establishment has an agenda. An agenda that has been refined by their think tanks and supported on the ground by NGOs and social persuaders. In turn these organizations are fed by corporations and their affiliates. Thus, its implementation at favorable moments is almost guaranteed.

From time immemorial, governments and influence groups had learned that war and crises are perfect to ask for and enact change.

The time has come for non-office, non-bigwig people to express their demands. We all need to adopt this maxim of “never let a good crisis go to waste” and leverage every opportunity to our advantage. Strive towards something that will benefit us on the individual level. Something that will continue to expand individual freedom and liberty.

The powers that be turn every crisis into either

1) consolidation of power

2) finding a new enemy to unite the nation against their cause

3) introduce and implement another measure of control

The above scenario will continue to replay and must be challenged and kept in check at all times.

After 9/11, aside from expanding mass surveillance, a number of measures were introduced at airports across the country. Everyone who enters the airport is subject to a search. We take our shoes and belts off, holding our pants in the walk of shame to the scanner. Then we raise our hands in an act of submission and stand for 3 seconds. If something is off, a pat-down search will commence. The same gender TSA officer will pat the area in question and sometimes the entire body for prohibited objects. At that moment, the subject has their arms raised perpendicular from their body to allow for free-roaming. If contraband is found, the TSA officer will remove it for further investigation. The scenarios one encounters at international airports can confidently be put under the scope of Searches, Shakedowns, and Contraband, which is a normal part of prison life.

We all know that 99.9% of people at these probing lines are not going to and do not have the intention of hijacking the airplane. However, this quickly became the “new normal” at the airports. All travelers on commercial airlines are considered guilty until proven innocent at the checkpoint.

The problem with the above measure of control is it’s here to stay for a long time. Your freedoms can be taken away with one keystroke, but it takes generations and centuries to gain them back.

What will be the legacy of coronavirus? Temperature checks at the entrances to the public places? Enforced mask-wearing at venues outlined by CDC and slavishly implemented by corporations? Only time will tell.

However, to return to the original question. How can the public use this crisis to their benefit?

One blessing that we received so far is the ability to work from home. However, the trend of working remotely has been gaining momentum over the last 10 years and only accelerated under the current crisis. Google and others claim the new normal after the crisis is 25-30% of workforce working remotely.

At the end of the day, employees should be given an option whether to work remotely or at the established work spaces. The benefits are numerous for both employees and employers in terms of mental and physical health, cost-savings, work/life balance, etc.

However, this is not enough. The powers that be have a laundry list of demands and measures they try to ram through with each crisis. We also cannot differ in tenacity and commitment to our ideas.

Here is a list of changes that we must demand and work on its implementation:

1) Remote work option for all eligible employees

2) Lifting of censorship on social media platforms

3) Removal of hate speech laws

4) Encouragement of open dialogue in a free market of ideas

The online censorship can be applied only to statements that violate specific laws and must be tried in courts before removal. If blanket censorship and outright repression of speech continues, it will entrench people in their existing beliefs and solidify their stance. Censorship does not work in eradicating people’s thoughts and ideas. Only open dialogue in a free market of ideas can be the best filter.

The true freedom and liberty rests on the foundational principles of allowing all to speak their minds and exchange ideas and in that process to weed out ill from the well.