“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ― Tacitus
I used to think that lawlessness meant lack of laws and boundless anarchy. But 2020 and 2021 have taught me that lawlessness is found, too, in an abundance of rules and regulations and codes written by unelected bureaucrats and mandates imposed by those at the top. In other words, lawlessness is not faithful to anarchy, for she flirts and cheats with tyranny.
Mandates – related to COVID-19 or otherwise – are tools of lawlessness wielded by power hungry officials against the Law of the Land and the foundations of our Republic. Whatsoever attacks – either openly or subtly – the Law of the Land is, by definition, lawless.
On the side of the law is the objective that government is to be restrained. On the side of mandates is the opposite objective that government is to be unleashed from its Constitutional restraints.
On the side of the law is the understanding that those who govern do so at the consent of the governed and the acknowledgment that the people grant limited and enumerated powers to the government. On the side of the mandates is the rejection of this arrangement and the adoption of the perspective that the government is ubiquitous in the lives of the governed, a master of the governed rather than servant of the governed.
On the side of the law is the intention to secure the liberties of the people. On the side of mandates is the intention to subdue the liberties of the people. Under the view of law, the people are highly esteemed. Under the view of mandates, the people are highly controlled. The law regards citizens as capable adults. The mandates treat citizens as incompetent children.
On the side of the law is the notion that vigorous debate ought be encouraged and dissent is profitable in crafting reasonable and wise solutions to real life problems. On the side of mandates, dissent is considered dangerous and debate is silenced, leaving the marketplace of ideas open only to approved experts who make decisions for us rather than with us.
On the side of the law is both the concept and the structure of a grand system of checks and balances that exists to prevent any one part of government from leaning toward tyranny. On the side of mandates is the willful neglect and ultimate implosion of that system of checks and balances.
On the side of the law exists a concern for truth and the complex conversations that arise from the reality that truth exists and facts matter. On the side of mandates exists only a concern for control and a demand for unquestioning compliance. Lies are considered noble if they swell the ranks of conformity. Slogans and propaganda are deemed necessary to advance the narrative into the lives and the minds of the population.
On the side of the law is a healthy respect for the individual and the rights of the individual to pursue his livelihood, live his dream, make his mistakes, and manage his risk. On the side of mandates is a disdain for the individual who hesitates to walk in lockstep with the orders from above.
On the side of the law is a recognition that all citizens are equally essential and that breadwinners everywhere – regardless of their position in society – are essential to the well-being of their families. Employment offers not only a paycheck, but purpose and dignity, and the law respects the rights of individuals to earn a living, craft a life, and discover noble meaning. On the side of mandates is inequality and division, meaninglessness and despair.
If the goal was to control the virus, the mandates have miserably failed. If the goal was to frighten and then control the people, the mandates have seemingly succeeded. The lawlessness of mandates – at least in the eyes of the elite and the media – seem to be marching onward. You see, the mandates and the hype have created the lawless environment in which everyone is confused about what is true and who has what authority. In this lawless confusion, whoever speaks the loudest seems to rule the day. And thus the mandate makers holding the megaphone of media have shouted into our lives that employment shall be linked to vaccination status and children shall wear masks in schools for the foreseeable future and natural immunity and those who talk about it will be dehumanized and scorned and sanitarians will stalk businesses and children will be conditioned to beg their parents to give consent for the trendy vaccine and the size of government – both elected and bureaucratic – will swell and the presence of government will propagate into every corner of every life while the citizen shrinks and learns to humbly approach his lawless government with hand outstretched, begging for permission to live what has become a suffering life.
While the lawlessness of mandates seems to be marching onward, we must remember that in the quiet recesses of the hearts of citizens a song of freedom reposes. We the People must bring forth from our hearts and minds that ancient song of liberty. We must remember and long for the blue skies and green grass of our heritage and turn away from the mandate makers and turn once more toward the Law of the Land. This is our land. This is our home. It is we who are brave, and it is we who shall be free under the banner of liberty and law, if we wake now from our slumber and rise with one accord to remind those who govern that they do so only at our consent.