“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” ~ Upton Sinclair
Those who favor liberty understand the great damage being imposed by authoritarians. But there is a big question of whether the authoritarians are just plain evil, or if they are misinformed.
I used to ponder this question when it came to basic economic issues like the minimum wage. Do these people not understand basic economics, or are they just demagogues who will promote a bad policy for the sake of their own power?
The minimum wage seems a little less important these days. First, the massive monetary inflation from the Fed is actually making the minimum wage laws less and less relevant as time goes on, unless we see new minimum wages imposed.
Second, when people are being ordered to take a government needle in the arm or lose their job, or they are being ordered to stay at home unless they are deemed essential, it makes the minimum wage issue seem rather mundane.
It is important to distinguish between the authoritarians. There are the authoritarians who actually have power (politicians, bureaucrats, those with money and influence, and even corporate executives to some degree). It is hard not to include those with money and corporate executives these days. In a free market, they should be able to do what they want peacefully. The problem is that they are intertwined with government policy. Think Bill Gates. Also think corporate media and social media executives who perform the censorship for the government.
There are also authoritarians who simply have little power other than their little voice. They support the authoritarians who are in power. I don’t think most of these people are evil, although even here it is somewhat nuanced. If someone has a salary or a position of prestige that may be threatened by more liberty, then the person may knowingly argue for the more authoritarian position even knowing that it isn’t right.
Or more common, the person will use justifications to bury his head in the sand.
It is easy to see this today with doctors and COVID. I’m sure there are many doctors who suspect that the treatment (or lack of treatment) protocols are wrong, or at least could be better. But they purposely have no curiosity. They don’t want to do their own independent research or listen to an alternative viewpoint because, deep down inside, they are afraid what they might learn. Then they would have to make a moral choice of continuing with the system (and killing more people) or speaking out against the system and jeopardizing their career.
This is especially hard for a doctor whose life and well-being is contingent on his profession. He likely spent a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of hard work going through medical school. Why would he be a martyr for the cause, especially when it will likely make no difference? Why would he give up his entire career and his reputation to make a point?
Of course, there is a difference between saying nothing and actually cheering on the authoritarians with power.
In 2020 and 2021, it has been very difficult for people who don’t like confrontation. They are accustomed to just going along. But some people were forced to make hard choices since COVID-19 hysteria appeared. They have almost been forced to take a stand one way or another.
I shop at Publix, a chain grocery store. I never once wore a mask in there. There were a couple of times when I think I was the only person in the store not wearing one. I know there were others who thought it was stupid to wear a mask, but they conformed because they don’t want confrontation. (I never had any confrontation there anyway, and the employees were always really nice.)
When it comes to the authoritarians who have little power, it is largely a mix of stupidity and lack of morals. It is often a combination of both.
And to be sure, it is just stupidity in this one area. I know many otherwise intelligent people who just believe whatever they are told by Fauci and the establishment media.
Even within the realm of medical care, you can have a brain surgeon who is brilliant at what he does. Meanwhile, if you start talking about COVID, he just becomes another moron. He is just “following the science”.
I think the majority are more stupid (in the political arena) than immoral. They are simply being duped. The good thing about this is that their minds could possibly be changed. The hard part is getting them to actually open their minds and consider the fact that they may have been duped. It obviously isn’t an easy thing to do.
In terms of COVID, the best thing is to just set a good example and live your life normally. If facts don’t convince them, maybe seeing a bunch of people attending an event without fear will convince them.
The Ruling Elite
The authoritarians who actually have power are a different story. They tend to be more evil than stupid.
I can tell you that Fauci is not stupid. He is very crafty with his words. He is not coming from a good place. He doesn’t care an ounce about humanity. He likes the power and prestige. He likes the money. He likes exerting power over others.
Even with politicians, bureaucrats, and even media personalities, it is still somewhat nuanced. They aren’t completely evil either, or at least not most of them. Most of these people have families, although that doesn’t make them good.
There were rumors that Gavin Newsom was injured by his “booster vaccine” in late October. He canceled a trip and didn’t make any appearances for well over a week.
My first thought was, “Was he actually stupid enough to get the booster shot? I figured he was just getting a saline injection.”
But if the ruling elite really do think the COVID vaccines are dangerous, I don’t think it would be very many people in on the secret. I would be surprised if Fauci didn’t get a saline injection.
So maybe Newsom really did get the booster and experienced some kind of temporary paralysis or other symptoms. This means that perhaps he is dumber than I thought.
But if he really did experience an adverse event, then there is no doubt that he is evil (not that I needed confirmation). Just the fact that he hid what happened is enough to show that he isn’t a good person. Worse, he will probably continue to push his vaccine mandates and other destructive policies.
There are some people who just get into politics because they want some prestige, and they may actually want to make a little bit of a difference. But then the power goes to their head and they can’t help themselves. They look away from reality and morality. They aren’t necessarily pure evil, but they have also lost their moral compass if they ever had one.
To be sure, you should never sympathize someone who is taking away your liberty if they are in a position of power. Even if they aren’t completely evil, they still have to own what they are doing. They are using initiatory violence or endorsing policies that do so. They are responsible for their actions.
You can sympathize a bit more with those who just support the authoritarians. They are also authoritarians, but they don’t have much power. They are mostly being duped. We should do everything we can to help them see the light.
At the same time, they are responsible for their own actions as well. We are trying to show them that they are supporting evil, yet they continue to support that evil. They show a lack of curiosity in seeing our point of view. They are not trying to understand our point of view. They will be skeptical over everything we say, yet not question one word coming from the establishment. So even here, my sympathy only goes so far.
Also, with COVID, it is a bit different than other issues in the past. Someone might have said they support the troops so they support some war overseas. But it didn’t really impact their life. So there didn’t seem to be much reason to be curious unless there was a concern for the innocent lives overseas.
With the COVID tyranny, there doesn’t seem to be much of an excuse in not being curious and doing some investigating. I know the corporate media spits out the same narrative, but it is easy enough to find dissenters. It is easy enough to find alternative points of view.
The official narrative now is to blame the unvaxxed for all of the COVID problems. About one-third of the population of Americans is still not getting jabbed despite the endless propaganda. How many on the pro COVID vaccine side (or the pro mandate side) will genuinely ask another person why they don’t want the vaccine and listen to their rationale?
Again, there is a lack of curiosity. Some of it is on purpose. Some of it is just plain ignorance. Some of it is evil. Some of it is just finding it easier to not ask any questions.
So there is no clean answer on whether the authoritarians are evil or misinformed. It is a combination of things.