Our Dress Rehearsal for a Police State
Creators,
by
Dennis Prager
Original Article
Posted By: Judy W.,
4/29/2020 6:23:10 AM
All my life, I have dismissed paranoids on the right (“America is headed to communism”) and the left (“It can happen here”—referring to fascism).
It’s not that I’ve ever believed liberty was guaranteed. Being familiar with history and a pessimist regarding the human condition, I never believed that.
But the ease with which police state tactics have been employed and the equal ease with which most Americans have accepted them have been breathtaking.
(Snip) But we are presently living with all four of the key hallmarks of a police state:
No. 1: Draconian laws depriving citizens of elementary civil rights.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
greyseal 4/29/2020 7:00:25 AM (No. 395056)
As best I can tell, we are not "lawbreakers" nor criminals unless violating "guidelines" is now a crime. Some governors (including Cooper here in NC) have enacted emergency powers that allows them some additional latitude in a crisis, but shuttering businesses and arresting those who dissent aren't laws on the books AFAIK. The sheeple have been circled up by the LEO sheepdogs and we're being sheared. Lamb chops come next...
greyseal
19 people like this.
Those Americans wearing an N95 Mask make their face look like that of a sheep. Especially, when you see them counted and herded into line at the grocery store. Makes me want to cry baa, baa!
20 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
cor-vet 4/29/2020 7:22:57 AM (No. 395069)
The former LEO's in America are very quickly becoming EEO's (edict enforcement officers) and most are not having any problem with it. Posters here and in many other publications, keep saying that LE will side with us against a totalitarian leader. Many members of the law enforcement community are little tyrants in their own way. They have a gun and a badge, and they're happy to show you how important they are. This 'pandemic ' should be showing a lot of people who were raised as I was, that the police are not your friends. It took a single instance of police overreach to open my eyes. Like any other profession, LEO's cover/ protect their own whether they are right or wrong. It may be too late for many to become proficient CCW's, but there's a reason why so many people carry concealed. The same thing goes for the National Guard and the current military. Remember Ruby Ridge, Kent State, and the Branch Davidians. I'm not advocating rebellion, yet, but I'm suggesting that people learn to depend on themselves. Local law enforcement have been seen to stand back and let the masked facist antifa operate, and attack conservatives , on more than one occasion. For every sheriff/police chief that says he's not going to enforce draconian laws, there are dozens that will.
28 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 4/29/2020 7:40:22 AM (No. 395088)
I'm appalled how easily we have been deprive of out constitutional rights without hardly a murmur from the citizens. The despots have observed this and learned. They've also learned from the attempted overthrow of the elected president with no punishment for the perpetrators. Wait until the next "pandemic." The lockdown will be quicker, more severe and longer, if it ends at all. We will hear again that "you need to obey to save lives." Not only will you be wearing a mask, but you will have to carry papers showing you can be out of your house. It is sad that the churches were among the first to shut their doors.
37 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
petrichor 4/29/2020 8:10:29 AM (No. 395121)
When I see people wearing masks in cars it does cause me to ponder the state of our country.
32 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Clinger 4/29/2020 8:27:10 AM (No. 395134)
Yes #5 and driving all alone. The willingness of people to fall in line and and be herded like livestock is chilling. What the hell do people think the message of WWII was?
26 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
dst4life 4/29/2020 8:30:46 AM (No. 395139)
Actually, snitches existed in America before this coronavirus crisis. Ever heard of neighborhood watch groups? Initially intended for justice and protection of people, their function has been perverted to spying on certain people. My hunch is the "snitches" Prager is referring to are part of these watch groups. This matter, because of this crisis, is simply being exposed.
11 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
RayLRiv 4/29/2020 9:12:43 AM (No. 395189)
RIGHT ON Dr. Prager
10 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
msjena 4/29/2020 9:21:00 AM (No. 395198)
Is anyone else getting depressed at the situation we are in? Religious services are banned (not just Christians; see DeBlasio's remarks about "the Jewish community"). We are being told we must wear masks, must stay a certain distance from other people, that in-person restaurants, theaters, sporting events are verboten, and that anyone who questions these extremely questionable measures is endangering others. And the majority of people, apparently, are willingly going along with it.
20 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
udanja99 4/29/2020 9:22:59 AM (No. 395203)
I’ve come to believe that this whole thing is much ado about not very much and I’ve acted accordingly. I haven’t worn a mask or gloves anywhere in the last 3 weeks and I’m just as healthy as I was every day of the last 2 years. It’s been at least that long since I had even so much as a sniffle. And I’m 67 years old.
Thank God and our brilliant Founders for the 2nd amendment - we may well be forced to use it soon.
16 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
mc squared 4/29/2020 9:56:01 AM (No. 395255)
Not much of a stretch to imagine several days of unusual weather, maybe warmer than average, leading to limitation on travel, in order to save the earth.
Same snitches, same Letters Of Transit to be displayed, same fines and arrests. Only Politburo members allowed in parks, beaches and houses of worship.
Baaa. Baaa.
11 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 4/29/2020 10:13:03 AM (No. 395295)
In my heart, I know Prager is right. I can only dream that it isn't so. Or that it is temporary. However, we are obviously in the throes of Stazi, Nazi and Brown Shirted watchers. It ended with a whimper, not a bang.
12 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
bigfatslob 4/29/2020 10:14:40 AM (No. 395299)
My wife and I have been retired for a few years and our daily routine in our home hasn't changed. We are just mad that we can't get some things done because our Nazi governess closed some businesses we shop or dine at. Our Elks Lodge is closed and that's our social outlet along with our state parks for camping so for now our back yard is our entertainment.
I am surprised how quickly the population bent to the whims of the state. This virus was not a one size fits all. Our state is not devastated like the state of N.Y. so why are we treated like them? This is ridiculous but our governess is going to act like Cuomo and will be happy to kill off our state until June or may July anything to damage the President.
13 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
HotRod 4/29/2020 10:21:57 AM (No. 395305)
Some people will willingly get into the cattle cars, but more of us won't!
We are already seeing law enforcement refusing to accept unconstitutional demands from politicians. Anyone who thinks the military would cooperate is dreaming. It's that Constitution thing again. There are far, far too many citizens who would fight. When a few of the ''police state'' ringleaders were neutralized, the rest would go silent. Democrats/socialists/communists always use other people to do their dirty work. They are cowards!
9 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
MDConservative 4/29/2020 11:44:34 AM (No. 395427)
Where's the good news and optimism? C'mon, now, things are never that bad. We need a few choruses of "Happy Days are Here Again"! Everybody sing!!
Prager and I are in complete agreement. This is serious stuff that will repeat itself if we can ever rid ourselves of this mess. It's a bi-partisan matter...not Dem or GOP...the hysteria is real and hardly abated. The death-toll breathlessly reported by media. And our return to "normalcy" will be a product of "sound science" and expert interpretation...exactly what has brought us to this point.
But I'm optimistic.
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 4/29/2020 11:53:44 AM (No. 395438)
I’m free! Was born that way and intend to die so. If my death comes sooner to remain free...so be it! The Tree of Liberty is parched!
3 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Strike3 4/29/2020 12:07:44 PM (No. 395457)
Pardon me while I load up the kayak and prepare for an afternoon of quiet fishing on the lake. Law enforcement is welcome to chase me.
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Geoman 4/29/2020 3:14:50 PM (No. 395608)
Most conservatives are way ahead of Prager and other similar writers, who are quick to tell us how bad the downward spiral of our freedoms has become and how much worse is coming; however, the pundits never really get to the bottom line as to what it will actually require of patriotic Americans to re-establish and preserve the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. Once leftists insurgents acquire a critical mass, which includes anti-American non-citizens, they cannot simply be vanquished at the polls, particularly when our national elections are subverted by leftist design and unopposed by an equal or stronger force.
2 people like this.
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The other three hallmarks are a supportive mass media, use of police to enforce the draconian laws, and citizen snitches.