One of the things I cherish about living in America, is, the Private Citizen is the focus of everything. This nation was founded on the idea that man was not meant to live under the tyrannical control of a government or a monarchy. There would be a small federal & state government which was made up of representatives who were elected by the people and for the people. You could move freely about the country, buy land, build a house, establish your own domain and live with little to no interference from the government. The concept of personal domain in America, was a cornerstone to our way of life. Having the freedom to govern your own life and affect the local municipalities was foundational.

America, at its core, was a decentralized nation made up of different states which were in turn, made up of different counties & municipalities, governed by the people who lived in those regions. This is what initially kept governmental power in check and preserved the free & sovereign individual. The Private Citizen, created commerce, trade, the economy, and the American way of life. The local government all the way to the Federal Government was dependent on the private citizen’s productivity.

In this way of life, there was virtue in “minding your own business”. People took care of themselves and their families; they didn’t feel the need, or frankly, believe they had the right, to police their neighbors. We were all responsible for ourselves and our households. Today, that’s an America we can only dream of.

At the urging of our Federal Government, the last 12 months have been marked with a steady campaign telling us all, “We’re in this together”, or “Let’s all stop the spread together.” All of this sounds completely innocent and even sensible. It seemed genuine that the government would take an interest in the safety of its people.

Thankfully, the government had a plan: willingly hand over some of your liberty in exchange for a promised measure of safety. But don’t worry, the government has assured us, once we get this under control (by their ever-changing requirements), we can have our freedoms back. But until then, do your part, wear your mask, stay six-feet apart, and stop going to work. This combined with the constant reporting on cases and deaths created a pantheon of fear. Now, we have all the pieces in place.

People believe, and I’ve actually heard them say, “if we just do what they tell us, everything will be OK.” The only people who talk like that are hostages. We have willingly entered into a hostage situation for the hopes of protection. It only costs us our freedom. The bad news is, our “captors” are now enjoying all this new power. They’re realizing, the more safety we want, the more control they get. In just a few short months, we’ve created a world where the Private Citizen is now dependent on the government.

For the government, the best part of all of this, is, they haven’t had to lift a finger to enforce it. The longer this gets stretched out, the more desperate The Collective get. The more desperate they get, the more aggressive they become at policing everyone. They want their old normal life back so badly, they’d do anything to get it, even call the authorities on their neighbors for having too many people over. The Collective are quick to remind anyone who disobeys that they’re the reason life won’t go back to normal. The Collective has become a cancer to the Private Citizen.

The Collective is now metastasizing. No one dares to go against it. It’s easier to go along so you can get in and get out of the store with what you need. Keep your head down, get home, and do your part. Slowly, your identity as a Private Citizen is dying. You forgot what real freedom feels like and honestly, you’re so used to living this way, it’s just become “the new normal.”

If we continue down this road, there will be nothing left of the Private Citizen. He will have been erased from existence. All that will remain, is The Collective.