This is a post in response to @atamme's question, “Do you think this pandemic has caused the United States government to have totalitarian tendencies?”
If a totalitarian government is one in which the government has complete control over the lives of its citizens then there is no freedom. Therefore, my initial answer to this question is no, the United States is not trending towards totalitarian tendencies. The United States is instead trending towards unselfish safety practices, to ensure a highly immunocompromised, obese, and susceptible nation is not destroyed. I assume that the totalitarian tendencies in question are the mandate for mask-wearing, government vaccinations and testing, and grounded international flights. Towards the beginning of the pandemic, these rules were a lot more strict, because it was a national and international state of emergency. In a state of emergency, the government takes precautions, such as telling citizens to take shelter during a winter blizzard or terrorist attack. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government realized after a few weeks that life must go on, and we could not be in endless quarantine. Safety precautions like mask-wearing, social distancing, and limited group sizes were put into place, to prevent the spread, not to cause an uproar over the detriment of personal rights. These safeguards were enacted in an attempt to restore the freedoms of Americans, and allow them to live their lives again. I do not think that these mandates are signs of a totalitarian government, I think they are the sign of a government trying to maintain safety. Just in the same way that the government requires citizens to follow speed limits, wear a seat belt, and not drink and drive, the government can create other laws to protect its citizens.
I think the sense of complete control we should be more worried about is the “cult following” attained by Donald J. Trump. A quote from Jeff Sharlet, “His rallies are the church, and he is the gospel” and he has gained control of the minds of millions. If Donald Trump worked hard enough, using his “disciples” as efficiently as possible, he might have been able to achieve total control of society during his time in office. As for mandated vaccines, I do understand some of the upset surrounding this issue. However, public schools do require students to have the DTap, polio, and chickenpox vaccine to begin kindergarten...
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