Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<section class=\"post-details\">\n<div class=\"post-date\"><span id=\"bcr_lblPDFUrl\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.mercola.com\/ImageServer\/Public\/2021\/September\/PDF\/covid-19-fear-destroys-freedom-pdf.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download PDF<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<nav class=\"post-nav\">\n<div id=\"divPreviousbutton\">\n<div class=\"previous-article\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div id=\"bcr_UpdPnlStory\">\n<div id=\"bcr_pnlStoryAtAGlance\" class=\"story-glance\" data-swiftype-name=\"saag\" data-swiftype-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"story-highlights\">\n<h3 id=\"expanderHead\" data-jsid=\"expanderHead\">STORY AT-A-GLANCE<\/h3>\n<div id=\"expanderContent\" data-jsid=\"expanderContent\">\n<ul>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_0\">The goal post for \u201cpublic safety\u201d has been moved further and further away. At regular intervals during the COVID-19 pandemic, there\u2019s been another Chicken Little warning that the sky is still falling and that we must not let down our guard<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_1\">In a Wall Street Journal essay, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urges readers not to trust \u201cthe elites,\u201d pointing out that \u201cInfluential people in public health, government and the media\u201d have \u201cfailed to rise to the moment\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_2\">In a recent U.S. Senate hearing, Sen. Rand Paul confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci, calling him out for the \u201ctheatre\u201d of wearing a mask after being vaccinated<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_3\">BBC News reports mask wearing and social distancing in the U.K. may need to continue for \u201cseveral years;\u201d Britons must wait for other nations to get fully vaccinated before they can go back to any sense of normalcy<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_4\">The more you give in and obey, the more you have to give in and obey<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bodytext\" class=\"bodytextdiv\" data-swiftype-name=\"postbody\" data-swiftype-type=\"text\">\n<p><strong>This article was previously published April 2, 2021, and has been updated with new information.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While COVID-19 can hardly be called a major public health threat anymore, having now reached endemic status (like the seasonal flu), the fearmongerers who need this crisis to continue in order to complete the implementation of a Great Reset to \u201cbuild back better\u201d the global economy and social structure aren\u2019t letting up.<\/p>\n<p>In a mid-March 2021 appearance on MSNBC News, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins expressed dismay at the public\u2019s display of independence, saying:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cOh my God, Florida, stay out of the bars with your masks off! What are you doing? This is exactly the wrong thing to be doing unless you want to end up where Europe is.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He\u2019s referring to a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is, allegedly \u2014 now known as Delta \u2014 \u201ccausing so many problems\u201d in Europe. But is it really? To be clear, there will be many new variants of this virus, just as the seasonal flu changes and evolves from year to year. The thing is, as viruses mutate within a population over time, they tend to become more benign.<\/p>\n<h2>Mutations: ‘Much Ado About Nothing\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>As reported by Mary Petrone, Ph.D., and Nathan Grubaugh, assistant professor in the department of epidemiology and microbial diseases at Yale, in a March 2020 CNN Health article:<sup><span id=\"edn1\" data-hash=\"#ednref1\">1<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cA recent scientific article suggested that the novel coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 epidemic has mutated into a more \u2018aggressive\u2019 form. Is this something we need to worry about? No, and here\u2019s why \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>The effects of mutation in real life are nuanced and generally innocuous. Using the idea of mutation to incite fear is harmful, especially in the midst of an epidemic like COVID-19 \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The genetic material of the virus is RNA, not DNA like in humans. Unlike with human DNA, when viruses copy their genetic material, it does not proofread its work. Because RNA viruses essentially operate without a spell-check, they often make mistakes.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>These \u2018mistakes\u2019 are mutations, and viruses mutate rapidly compared to other organisms. While this might sound frightening, mistakes during replication usually produce changes that are neutral or even harmful to the newly generated virus. Neutral mutations, which neither improve nor hinder viruses’ survival, may continue to circulate without any noticeable change in the people they infect.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>Mutations that are harmful to the viruses are less likely to survive and are eliminated through natural selection. Fortunately, when mutations occur that help a virus spread or survive better, they are unlikely to make a difference in the course of an outbreak.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>Viral traits such as infectiousness and disease severity are controlled by multiple genes, and each of those genes may affect the virus’ ability to spread in multiple ways. For example, a virus that causes severe symptoms may be less likely to be transmitted if infected people are sick enough to stay in bed.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>As such, these traits are like blocks in a Rubik’s cube; a change in one characteristic will change another. The chances of a virus navigating these complex series of trade-offs to become more severe during the short timescale of an outbreak are extremely low.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"productad\"><\/div>\n<h2>The Ever-Moving Goal Post<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve paid attention, you\u2019ve likely noticed that the goal post for \u201cpublic safety\u201d has been moved further and further away as we\u2019ve gone along. At regular intervals, there\u2019s been another Chicken Little warning that the sky is still falling and that we must not let down our guard.<\/p>\n<p>First it was the number of deaths that was cause for alarm. Now we know that many of the so-called COVID-19 deaths were not, in fact, caused by the virus, while erroneous epidemiological models predicted millions of deaths lest drastic measures were taken.<\/p>\n<p>As PCR testing took off, rising \u201ccase\u201d loads seemed to confirm such dire predictions, sparking widespread panic. With 20\/20 hindsight, we now realize that the cycle thresholds of these tests were set so high that even healthy, uninfected and noninfectious people tested positive.<\/p>\n<p>This, in turn, allowed for the myth of asymptomatic spread to take root, and that then became the fear trigger, with everyone being a potential threat, no matter how healthy they appear.<\/p>\n<p>The solution offered was for everyone to wear a mask at all times. Or two. Or perhaps three. Fortunately, even the experts backed off from suggestions of four layers. Yet, from the start, we knew, based on published science, that masks don\u2019t work against viruses.<\/p>\n<p>As \u201ccases\u201d skyrocketed in tandem with fraudulent PCR testing, we were then told the best thing to do is shut everything down for two weeks to prevent overloading hospitals. The message was: Stay home, save a life, let the virus die out.<\/p>\n<p>But even though hospitals remained at functional capacity in most areas, as \u201ccases\u201d (read false positives) continued to rise, two-week lockdowns were turned into three weeks, then four. In some areas, lockdowns dragged on for months, yet it didn\u2019t seem to have the desired effect on the case load. By this time, hospital capacity was entirely forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>As lockdowns continued and people started to grumble, the \u201cexperts\u201d in charge of this global organization (or more accurately, reorganization) warned that this was the new normal. The new message was now: Settle in. Get used to it. The virus doesn\u2019t seem to be going anywhere, so our only hope is a vaccine. We just have to keep it together until then, and then we\u2019ll all be safe again.<\/p>\n<p>Alas, flies in the ointment appeared in the form of inexpensive treatments that worked just fine, and scientists and medical doctors sharing concerns about these novel \u201cvaccines\u201d that really aren\u2019t and the public health dangers of lockdowns.<\/p>\n<p>Censorship unlike anything the world has ever seen before was launched, and vaccine-deniers became the new enemy \u2014 worse even than those pesky asymptomatic healthy people that refuse to wear a mask.<\/p>\n<p>Something had to be done about free thinkers and question-raisers, and so the goal post was moved again. That\u2019s when the message changed to: The whole world, all 7-plus billion people, must get vaccinated, or else we\u2019re all toast. This way, people will turn on each other and force each other to comply and stop with the questioning.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<aside class=\"takeaway tamiddle\">We cannot simply undo the harm caused by flawed policies advocated by our elites, but we can resolve that we never let this happen to our country again. ~ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/aside>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And so it continues. The sky hasn\u2019t fallen yet, but we\u2019re promised that unless we comply, it surely will. The latest message is: Any day now. Just a matter of time. Obey, and the experts will make sure we survive the inevitable pandemonium. Now, vaccine passports are being rolled out, and both private companies and entire nations are considering restricting any sense of normalcy to vaccinated-only. Are you tired of chasing the goal post yet?<\/p>\n<h2>Chicken Little\u2019s Puppet Masters<\/h2>\n<p>In a Wall Street Journal essay<sup><span id=\"edn2\" data-hash=\"#ednref2\">2<\/span><\/sup> published March 18, 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged readers not to trust \u201cthe elites,\u201d pointing out that \u201cInfluential people in public health, government and the media\u201d have \u201cfailed to rise to the moment.\u201d He went on:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic represented a test of elites in the U.S., from public-health experts to the corporate media. The results have been disappointing. Policy makers who bucked the elites and challenged the narrative have been proven right to do so.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>To begin with, highly publicized epidemiological models were as consequential as they were wrong \u2026 The lockdowns failed to stop the virus but did a great deal of societal damage along the way \u2014 damage that a more targeted approach, seeking to reduce total harms, would have been able to avoid (and did, in places like Sweden and Florida) \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>Elites sent conflicting messages about the efficacy of cloth masks, the uniformity of risk across age brackets, the danger of outdoor transmission \u2026 Perhaps most damaging to public trust was the public-health campaign urging \u201815 Days to Slow the Spread\u2019 \u2026 Going from \u2018save the hospitals\u2019 to \u2018zero COVID\u2019 represents one of the greatest instances in history of moving the goal post \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>While it was abundantly clear by May that schools represented low-risk environments for the spread of COVID and that the consequences of prolonged school closures were potentially catastrophic, the corporate media did its best to obscure the data and stoke fear and panic among parents and teachers.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>Had the media presented the data on schools in a rational fashion with proper context and perspective \u2026 millions of students would be in markedly better shape academically and socially.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>For months we were told to \u2018trust the experts,\u2019 but far too often over the past year those who were most influential in our society \u2014 in public health, government and media \u2014 proved incapable of rising to the moment \u2026 We cannot simply undo the harm caused by flawed policies advocated by our elites, but we can resolve that we never let this happen to our country again.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Who\u2019s in Charge, Really?<\/h2>\n<p>DeSantis\u2019 definition of \u201celites\u201d is basically prominent public health and corporate media leaders. That may be appropriate for the critique offered in his article, but even these influential individuals are mere foot soldiers in the bigger scheme of things.<\/p>\n<p>Above them towers a pyramidical power structure populated by globalist entities \u2014 nongovernmental organizations, think-tanks, private corporations and billionaire philanthropists \u2014 many of which we\u2019ve never even heard of, and who rule without being seen.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the motto of one of the most influential yet universally overlooked global powerhouses, the Swedish Wallenberg family dynasty, is \u201cEsse non videri,\u201d or in Swedish, \u201cAtt verka utan att synas,\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn3\" data-hash=\"#ednref3\">3<\/span><\/sup>which translates into \u201cTo operate without being seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Wallenbergs\u2019 involvement in banking, and technological and power infrastructure grants them immense power over entire nations, not to mention the global intelligence and surveillance apparatus as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>I suspect that in the final analysis, we will find the little country of Sweden may actually be a most significant power player in the Great Reset. The hope, of course, is that by exposing this nefarious global takeover plan, we can stop it and reverse course.<\/p>\n<h2>Fauci Called Out for His Theatrical Performance<\/h2>\n<p>More locally we have Dr. Anthony Fauci, who surely qualifies as an elitist pharmaceutical priest, of sorts, whose advice we ought to balance with more rational perspectives. In a recent U.S. Senate hearing over the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Rand Paul confronted Fauci about his mask recommendations, saying:<sup><span id=\"edn4\" data-hash=\"#ednref4\">4<\/span>,<\/sup><sup><span id=\"edn5\" data-hash=\"#ednref5\">5<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>“You’re telling everybody to wear a mask, whether they’ve had an infection or a vaccine. What I’m saying is that they have immunity, and everybody agrees they have immunity.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>What studies do you have that people that have had the vaccine or have had the infection \u2026 are spreading the infection? If we’re not spreading the infection, isn’t it just theater? You’ve had the vaccine and you’re wearing two masks, isn’t that theater?”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>When Fauci tries to defend his position by bringing up the issue of new variants that the vaccine may or may not defend against, which he says necessitates the use of a mask even if vaccinated, Paul strikes back saying:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cWhat studies show significant reinfection, hospitalization and death from the variants? None in our country. Zero. You\u2019re making your policy based on conjecture. You have the conjecture that we\u2019re going to get variants so you want people to wear a mask for another couple of years.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>You\u2019ve been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show. You can\u2019t get it again \u2026 You\u2019re defying everything we know about immunity by telling people to wear masks who have been vaccinated \u2026 If you have immunity, [wearing a mask] is theater. You\u2019re wearing a mask to give comfort to others. You\u2019re not wearing a mask because of any science.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Masks and Social Distancing Here to Stay?<\/h2>\n<p>In related news, BBC News reported in April 2021 that mask wearing and social distancing in the U.K. may need to continue for \u201cseveral years.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn6\" data-hash=\"#ednref6\">6<\/span><\/sup> So said Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at Public Health England. Another extension on the foreign holiday (vacation) ban was also being considered.<\/p>\n<p>The reason, again, was that no one can be free until the whole world has gotten vaccinated. The idea being presented, as DeSantis pointed out, is that we now have to reach a COVID-free state before we can start living life again. Meaning, as long as there\u2019s a single specimen of SARS-CoV-2 anywhere on the planet, the whole world is at risk, as it will spread and grow, so no one can live as they please until the virus has been eradicated.<\/p>\n<p>The goal post is now so far in the future, we can\u2019t even see a glimmer of it in the distance anymore. The old saying, \u201cGive them an inch and they\u2019ll take a mile,\u201d seems apt at this point.<\/p>\n<p>At some stage, you must realize that the more you give in and obey, the more you have to give in and obey. There really is no end to what they can take from you, and holding on to the belief that your government would never [fill in the blank] is becoming more dangerous by the day.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also important to realize that your government isn\u2019t the ultimate power. Our government officials take orders too, believe it or not, from what is now commonly known as the deep state. It\u2019s not a government at all, but a global, hidden power structure that is accountable to no one, while influencing and manipulating everyone to bring about a new world order.<\/p>\n<h2>The New World Order<\/h2>\n<p>In years past, this shadowy cabal of power brokers were referred to under the term the New World Order. In 2020, the World Economic Forum came out on the public stage and announced the Great Reset, which is nothing but the NWO rebranded. So, it\u2019s a conspiracy no more.<\/p>\n<p>In the video above, investigative journalist Harry Vox talks about disease outbreaks, quarantines and curfews being essential tools in the ruling class\u2019 toolkit, and how these tools were planned to be used to usher in the next phase of control.<\/p>\n<p>The interview, which took place in 2014, sounds more than a little prophetic today, as these three indispensable tools for totalitarian control have been part of our reality for the entire first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, Vox also refers to \u201cScenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development,\u201d a document by the Rockefeller Foundation, in which they lay out their \u201cLockstep\u201d scenario, which details the global response to a lethal pandemic.<\/p>\n<h2>The Lockstep Scenario<\/h2>\n<p>While the name and origin of the virus differ, the scenario laid out in this document matches many of the details of our present. A deadly viral pandemic. A deadly effect on economies. International mobility coming to a screeching halt, debilitating industries, tourism and global supply chains. \u201cEven locally, normally bustling shops and office buildings sat empty for months, devoid of both employees and customers,\u201d the document reads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the absence of official containment protocols,\u201d the virus spread like wildfire. In this narrative, the U.S. administration\u2019s failure to place strict travel restrictions on its citizens proved to be a fatal flaw, as it allowed the virus to spread past its borders. China, on the other hand, fared particularly well due to its rapid imposition of universal quarantines of all citizens, which proved effective for curbing the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n<p>Many other nations where leaders \u201cflexed their authority\u201d and imposed severe restrictions on their citizens \u2014 \u201cfrom the mandatory wearing of face masks to body-temperature checks at the entries of communal spaces like train stations and supermarkets\u201d \u2014 also fared well.<\/p>\n<p>Listen to the disbelief in the interviewer\u2019s voice when he asks if Vox actually believes that such a thing could happen, that we would have to stand in line to get our temperature checked before entering a building.<\/p>\n<p>Well, every single one of us has now had to do this at least a few times, so we know it\u2019s possible. And if that\u2019s possible, why not the rest of the Lockstep plan, which tells us that: \u201cEven after the pandemic faded, this more authoritarian control and oversight of citizens and their activities stuck, and even intensified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We can no longer afford to disbelieve the lengths to which the globalist elites, the unelected deep state, can and will go to seize total control over our global resources and people. They\u2019ve already told us what the ultimate plan is \u2014 to use bioterrorism to take control of the world\u2019s resources, wealth and people.<\/p>\n<p>All we need to do is to believe it, and realize that the only thing giving them the power to impose their will is our fear. As long as we choose fear and demand our government keep us safe from pathogens, they have every chance of winning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bcr_divfootnote\" class=\"sources-references narrow-width\">\n<h3 id=\"heading\" class=\"title link16\" data-jsid=\"sourcesReferencesBtn\">– Sources and References<\/h3>\n<div id=\"contentrefsources\" class=\"contentrefsources\" data-jsid=\"sourcesReferences\">\n<div class=\"sources sourcesfoot\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"bcr_divReferences\" class=\"references\">\n<ul id=\"footnote-references2\">\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref1\" data-hash=\"#edn1\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">1<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/07\/health\/coronavirus-mutations-analysis\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN Health March 7, 2020<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref2\" data-hash=\"#edn2\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">2<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/NYmEk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wall Street Journal March 18, 2021 (Archived)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref3\" data-hash=\"#edn3\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">3<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/steigan.no\/2016\/04\/att-verka-utan-att-synas-wallenberg-i-den-svenska-pyramidens-topp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steigan April 8, 2016<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref4\" data-hash=\"#edn4\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">4<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/sen-rand-paul-accused-dr-164045169.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yahoo News March 19, 2021<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref5\" data-hash=\"#edn5\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">5<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dcexaminer\/status\/1372589804240596992?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter Washington Examiner March 18, 2021<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref6\" data-hash=\"#edn6\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">6<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/amp\/uk-56475807?__twitter_impression=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC March 21, 2021<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84549\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}