Commentary
Are you seeking social connection in these post-lockdown times of fragmentation, disorientation, sadness, economic loss, and ill-health?
You are not alone. It’s a problem all over the world. Three years ago, our social, economic, political, and cultural institutions were shattered by a central decree. The key edict came from the World Health Organization (WHO). The date was Jan. 30, 2023. The WHO was thrilled how China was responding to the virus by shattering the lives of its citizens. It told the entire world of the CCP’s miracle cure!
The WHO, said an official communique, “believes that it is still possible to interrupt virus spread, provided that countries put in place strong measures to detect disease early, isolate and treat cases, trace contacts, and promote social distancing measures commensurate with the risk.”
The entire world, wrote the WHO, should embrace a “spirit of support and appreciation for China, its people, and the actions China has taken on the front lines of this outbreak, with transparency, and, it is to be hoped, with success.” Cheers to China, said the WHO, because it is “setting a new standard.”
And so the CCP welded doors of apartments shut and an entire city was turned into a prison in the name of virus control. Suicides and despair followed, along with population-wide terror. A month later, the government proclaimed that it had beat the virus.
The WHO was thrilled, and so it set up a special junket for health officials from the United States, Europe, and the UK. This took place Feb. 16–24, 2020. The chartered flight to see the glories of the CCP miracle included Anthony Fauci’s deputy assistant. The report came in with nothing but rave reviews.
“At the individual level, the Chinese people have reacted to this outbreak with courage and conviction. They have accepted and adhered to the starkest of containment measures — whether the suspension of public gatherings, the month-long ‘stay at home’ advisories or prohibitions on travel.”
This one report should have been enough to discredit the WHO forever, and prompt its instant abolition. Instead, the report issued on Feb. 24, 2020, became an instruction manual for the entire world, including the United States. Three days later, the New York Times was calling for nationwide lockdowns. Two weeks later, the Trump administration ordered that “public and private venues where people gather should be closed.”
We know the rest of the tragedy. Businesses, schools, churches, families, and communities were wrecked, and not just for two weeks but for a year or two or more. Looking back the goal was always to buy time to get the entire population pumped with mRNA shots delivered through lipid nanoparticles. Governments around the world used all their power to make it so.
And the effect? I’m sure you have your own stories. The sadness, demoralization, ill-health, mental illness, learning loss, and psychological sense of damage are everywhere in evidence.
Every report reveals this. It proves impossible to exaggerate the carnage. You think kids lost one year of education? Maybe two? It is getting worse. How bad is it overall and when has it been this way? The figures on reading and math show that the U.S. is set back at least two decades in progress on educational outcomes.
It’s impossible to name the worst of it since it is all awful. But loneliness certainly ranks high. Friend groups were wrecked. Not being allowed to meet for many months dissolved them. When they tried to reconstitute, they split over masking. When they tried again, they broke up over vaccines. Top health officials were urging people to exclude family members from gatherings if they were unvaccinated.
Daily I hear from people with deeply tragic stories. I spent yesterday in the beautiful and mysterious town of Tepoztlán, Mexico, meeting with a group of people who found refuge here from lockdowns. Mexico was open in those days. Even this town had its own lockdowns but they were brief. The many thousands of people who moved here include people from all over Europe, the UK, Israel, and the United States. Each has an amazing story of tragedy and triumph, and everyone is working to rebuild a life.
It’s true in your town too, as you well know. Everyone of all ages is trying to find a new path.
It’s with this backdrop that I just learned of a new initiative from the World Health Organization. And this one you simply will not believe. It is seeking new powers, new funding, and a new mandate to cure your loneliness. It’s just not possible to make this stuff up.