Apr 4, 2022·edited Apr 4, 2022Liked by Aaron Kheriaty, MD
Excellent, detailed description. A combination of policy study and recent history in a short compass. I hope at some point you will have the time to organize the short posts and various essays into a longer work or collection. I will mention one more aspect which has been discussed elsewhere, including in your own work. The imposition of this new normal has always included an excluded class: a group of people to whom some restrictions in part or at times in whole did not apply, but who benefitted financially and politically from the restrictions on the majority.
I am not arguing for a crude economic explanation, but pointing out what respectable journalists have covered:
Historically, pandemics have had the opposite effect. Pandemics had a levelling effect. Societies would emerge with lesser socio-economic inequality -- not greater. There are morbid reasons for this, but the historical pattern nevertheless was fairly consistent.
The response to this pandemic resulted in concentrations of wealth and power, new systems for tracking people and enforcing behavior, and censorship by mainstream and social media intended to enforce ideological conformity. But in the USA, it also resulted in dubious public health outcomes compared to many other highly developed nations. It also resulted in many other harms: social, economic, childhood development, etc.
Yet in response to all these failures, the only answers have been: (a) we need more control; (b) you must further sacrifice and cooperate more fully.
If someone had predicted this to me just five years ago -- and certainly, ten years ago, I would have dismissed it as paranoid nonsense. Beneath my serious consideration. But now we are living it. I am honestly still struggling with it all, and wondering how we best go forward in resisting and even dismantling this "new normal."
Oh that our National leaders would read Dr Kheriaty’s brilliant piece, understand, then repent, reverse, correct and “never again” respond so foolishly and ignorantly. If only. Unfortunately will likely require that political and cultural upheaval. “We the (wise) people”
Excellent article!!! As a mom of 2 young kids, I now regret my past support of Democrats and centralized government. I am horrified at how I bought into ideology and ignored pragmatism and, well, reality. I lived, I learned, I ate humble pie, and with hard lessons come greater knowledge and improved understanding. For what it's worth, I turned 18 the year Bush II was first elected, and I don't at all regret NOT voting for him. I also don't regret voting FOR Trump in 2020 (I may be the only millennial lacking Twitter, but as a result mean tweets don't really bother me)
In the end, life will improve, and things will start going better for all when the neocons and neoliberals are out of power. They are globalist (doesn't work), interventionist (doesn't work), and believe in limitless state power (which causes lots of death and human suffering aka doesn't work). the WEF is populated with egotistical lunatics. So are many government agencies. They can pontificate around Davos all they want, we can ignore them, and should demand those setting policy that affects us ignore them as well. I do welcome the WEF members practicing what they preach and giving up control of all their wealth to show the rest of us what that looks like, yet somehow, I don't see that actually happening.
Keep doing your thing. What you do matters, and hopefully will be a part of opening eyes and welcoming sanity and intellectual curiosity back to our communities. Our kids need it, and they are depending on us to finish the job.
This psy-op has been thoroughly horrifying to me since the first lockdown "orders" came from my governor (MA). I knew it was not good and my fears have been vindicated. It's the end of all the progress in rights from Our Lord through the Magna Carta, through the US Constitution, and more recently Nuremberg and Helsinki. It all went up in a puff of smoke with hardly a fanfare, and with no obituary.
This is a whole new pseudo-religion, with it's sacramentals of the face veil and holy disinfectant, and salvation through self immolation. It's Jim Jones! Where are the freedom-loving hippies of the 60's? All the godless liberals who get the vapors at the hint of any Christian assuming public office and "imposing" religion on the masses have flipped 180 degrees. They eagerly submit to new dogmas, sacramentals, the practice of daily Office (the ancient hourly prayers of religious) by watching the covid cases on CNN and hearing the sermons of the anointed hierarchy of "The Science." And I'm speaking of colleagues who are PhD's like myself, but obviously educated beyond their natural intelligence. It's absolutely sickening.
You're right that this trial run of the new barbarism, Baal worship, is not just going to vanish. All those who are pleased that the Christendom of centuries past is all but entirely vanished, welcome to your New Normal! Enjoy it, if they let you. Die for them if they ask you. Self-destructive idiot slaves, all!
Respectfully, I agree with you in spirit (I trust), but not all of the phrasing or some of the specifics. That the "new normal" has usurped traditional religious belief and practice, but without any of the centuries of accrued wisdom and hard-won pragmatism, this I do not deny. That the "new normal" even as it acts in the name of public safety denies any authority -- spiritual, civil, or natural -- greater than its own power, this also I do not deny.
Our power elite seem to practicing a politicized and perverted form of Calvinism: we the visible saints, we the predestined elect, we the chosen few. We can do no wrong — even if we should appear to do wrong. Works or deeds no longer matter in any sense. Swear to the woke profession, and you will have moral license — and even practical support — to do as you please.
I am not one of the elect, but I am also am not (yet, I pray ) a self-destructive idiot slave. I am still hoping for and even trying to contribute a "slave rebellion." Since I have a common cause with people who may have their roots -- personal or familial -- in different faith communities, I am willing to work with them. All best!
Yes, the one deed that matters is to swear to the woke profession. You do have to observe the laws of the veil, the distancing, the communion with mRNA. But then you have the license to shame the infidels, thrash and burn (the Milgram empowerment).
We should work with all who will resist. We should try to free the slaves of the New Normal religion. I include my overeducated colleagues, though most are such willful idiots. Is it uncharitable of me to say so?
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in any number of people or institutions I had trusted and respected. I could say far worse things that "willful idiots" about the people involved -- but your point is well-taken, for sure. As for having or lacking charity, I am not the one to judge. Thank you for your reply. With respect, and all best.
Have enjoyed Dr. Kheriaty from the beginning .. The first 'truth teller' in my book .. Watched his interview with Jan Jekelielek and have been a follower .. Thank you Dr. Kheriaty - you are amazingly brilliant and I have joined your substack as a paid subscriber!
"Perhaps without realizing it, we just lived through the design and implementation of a new political paradigm—a system that was for more effective at controlling the population than anything previously done by Western nations. Under this novel biomedical security model, “the total cessation of every form of political activity and social relationship [became] the ultimate act of civic participation.”
It was very surreal and scary for me as a NYer to see how compliance continued after the infamous two weeks to flatten the curve. Having grown up when moms dragged everyone to the sick kids house to play while they had coffee and smoked.. we all got infected at the same time one and done.. Healthy immune system and decent hand washing will cover me fine..
I was out in the silent streets taking pics from the outset. It was eerie knowing millions of my fellow NYers who packed tight in the subways & eat street food with barely a wipe of the hands on the tee were suddenly paralyzed by the fear porn saturating us.
Nothing could be more unlikely or amazing than seeing empty NYC streets.. felt more like the Hollywood set version missing the heart the people are and structures can never be. When DeBlasio made the curfew and protests began at Gracie Mansion it was a huge relief we hadn't lost all our Moxie.
Excellent, detailed description. A combination of policy study and recent history in a short compass. I hope at some point you will have the time to organize the short posts and various essays into a longer work or collection. I will mention one more aspect which has been discussed elsewhere, including in your own work. The imposition of this new normal has always included an excluded class: a group of people to whom some restrictions in part or at times in whole did not apply, but who benefitted financially and politically from the restrictions on the majority.
I am not arguing for a crude economic explanation, but pointing out what respectable journalists have covered:
From The Nation, 22 March 2022: The Pandemic Made the Rich $1.7 Trillion Richer https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/pandemic-rich-richer/
From Time Magazine, 30 April 2021: America's 1% Got Way Richer During the Pandemic https://time.com/5974430/wealth-tax-covid-19/
Historically, pandemics have had the opposite effect. Pandemics had a levelling effect. Societies would emerge with lesser socio-economic inequality -- not greater. There are morbid reasons for this, but the historical pattern nevertheless was fairly consistent.
The response to this pandemic resulted in concentrations of wealth and power, new systems for tracking people and enforcing behavior, and censorship by mainstream and social media intended to enforce ideological conformity. But in the USA, it also resulted in dubious public health outcomes compared to many other highly developed nations. It also resulted in many other harms: social, economic, childhood development, etc.
Yet in response to all these failures, the only answers have been: (a) we need more control; (b) you must further sacrifice and cooperate more fully.
If someone had predicted this to me just five years ago -- and certainly, ten years ago, I would have dismissed it as paranoid nonsense. Beneath my serious consideration. But now we are living it. I am honestly still struggling with it all, and wondering how we best go forward in resisting and even dismantling this "new normal."
Oh that our National leaders would read Dr Kheriaty’s brilliant piece, understand, then repent, reverse, correct and “never again” respond so foolishly and ignorantly. If only. Unfortunately will likely require that political and cultural upheaval. “We the (wise) people”
Excellent article!!! As a mom of 2 young kids, I now regret my past support of Democrats and centralized government. I am horrified at how I bought into ideology and ignored pragmatism and, well, reality. I lived, I learned, I ate humble pie, and with hard lessons come greater knowledge and improved understanding. For what it's worth, I turned 18 the year Bush II was first elected, and I don't at all regret NOT voting for him. I also don't regret voting FOR Trump in 2020 (I may be the only millennial lacking Twitter, but as a result mean tweets don't really bother me)
In the end, life will improve, and things will start going better for all when the neocons and neoliberals are out of power. They are globalist (doesn't work), interventionist (doesn't work), and believe in limitless state power (which causes lots of death and human suffering aka doesn't work). the WEF is populated with egotistical lunatics. So are many government agencies. They can pontificate around Davos all they want, we can ignore them, and should demand those setting policy that affects us ignore them as well. I do welcome the WEF members practicing what they preach and giving up control of all their wealth to show the rest of us what that looks like, yet somehow, I don't see that actually happening.
Keep doing your thing. What you do matters, and hopefully will be a part of opening eyes and welcoming sanity and intellectual curiosity back to our communities. Our kids need it, and they are depending on us to finish the job.
Thank you for your words and your honesty.
This psy-op has been thoroughly horrifying to me since the first lockdown "orders" came from my governor (MA). I knew it was not good and my fears have been vindicated. It's the end of all the progress in rights from Our Lord through the Magna Carta, through the US Constitution, and more recently Nuremberg and Helsinki. It all went up in a puff of smoke with hardly a fanfare, and with no obituary.
This is a whole new pseudo-religion, with it's sacramentals of the face veil and holy disinfectant, and salvation through self immolation. It's Jim Jones! Where are the freedom-loving hippies of the 60's? All the godless liberals who get the vapors at the hint of any Christian assuming public office and "imposing" religion on the masses have flipped 180 degrees. They eagerly submit to new dogmas, sacramentals, the practice of daily Office (the ancient hourly prayers of religious) by watching the covid cases on CNN and hearing the sermons of the anointed hierarchy of "The Science." And I'm speaking of colleagues who are PhD's like myself, but obviously educated beyond their natural intelligence. It's absolutely sickening.
You're right that this trial run of the new barbarism, Baal worship, is not just going to vanish. All those who are pleased that the Christendom of centuries past is all but entirely vanished, welcome to your New Normal! Enjoy it, if they let you. Die for them if they ask you. Self-destructive idiot slaves, all!
Respectfully, I agree with you in spirit (I trust), but not all of the phrasing or some of the specifics. That the "new normal" has usurped traditional religious belief and practice, but without any of the centuries of accrued wisdom and hard-won pragmatism, this I do not deny. That the "new normal" even as it acts in the name of public safety denies any authority -- spiritual, civil, or natural -- greater than its own power, this also I do not deny.
Our power elite seem to practicing a politicized and perverted form of Calvinism: we the visible saints, we the predestined elect, we the chosen few. We can do no wrong — even if we should appear to do wrong. Works or deeds no longer matter in any sense. Swear to the woke profession, and you will have moral license — and even practical support — to do as you please.
I am not one of the elect, but I am also am not (yet, I pray ) a self-destructive idiot slave. I am still hoping for and even trying to contribute a "slave rebellion." Since I have a common cause with people who may have their roots -- personal or familial -- in different faith communities, I am willing to work with them. All best!
Yes, the one deed that matters is to swear to the woke profession. You do have to observe the laws of the veil, the distancing, the communion with mRNA. But then you have the license to shame the infidels, thrash and burn (the Milgram empowerment).
We should work with all who will resist. We should try to free the slaves of the New Normal religion. I include my overeducated colleagues, though most are such willful idiots. Is it uncharitable of me to say so?
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in any number of people or institutions I had trusted and respected. I could say far worse things that "willful idiots" about the people involved -- but your point is well-taken, for sure. As for having or lacking charity, I am not the one to judge. Thank you for your reply. With respect, and all best.
Have enjoyed Dr. Kheriaty from the beginning .. The first 'truth teller' in my book .. Watched his interview with Jan Jekelielek and have been a follower .. Thank you Dr. Kheriaty - you are amazingly brilliant and I have joined your substack as a paid subscriber!
"Perhaps without realizing it, we just lived through the design and implementation of a new political paradigm—a system that was for more effective at controlling the population than anything previously done by Western nations. Under this novel biomedical security model, “the total cessation of every form of political activity and social relationship [became] the ultimate act of civic participation.”
It was very surreal and scary for me as a NYer to see how compliance continued after the infamous two weeks to flatten the curve. Having grown up when moms dragged everyone to the sick kids house to play while they had coffee and smoked.. we all got infected at the same time one and done.. Healthy immune system and decent hand washing will cover me fine..
I was out in the silent streets taking pics from the outset. It was eerie knowing millions of my fellow NYers who packed tight in the subways & eat street food with barely a wipe of the hands on the tee were suddenly paralyzed by the fear porn saturating us.
Nothing could be more unlikely or amazing than seeing empty NYC streets.. felt more like the Hollywood set version missing the heart the people are and structures can never be. When DeBlasio made the curfew and protests began at Gracie Mansion it was a huge relief we hadn't lost all our Moxie.
Grand Central at rush hour week 4 lockdown https://www.flickr.com/photos/pameladrew/49778684708/in/album-72157713908663117/