[August 30, 2022] The responses of governments worldwide in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were the greatest public policy failures since at least WWI. The response was directly responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any war, disease, or disaster ever to hit America. And, except for the U.S. Civil War, it wrought more economic and social devastation than in our history as a nation.
The focus of national and local governments to fight the virus was lockdowns of businesses, schools, churches, sports, and social life. There was never any doubt that lockdowns caused enormous costs and offered few benefits. And worse, there was an active program in government and tech giants to brutally suppress the debate over such policies, a typical third-world nation operational method.
“Little by little, the truth of lockdown is being admitted: it was a disaster.” – British Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption in the London Times (link here).
Supreme Court Justice Sumption notes that lockdowns were an extreme response to an ancient problem, epidemic disease. He also notes that it was something else; it marked one of the gravest governmental failures of modern times.
The lockdowns originated in the early days of the pandemic when China and the World Health Organization conceived of the idea of suppressing the virus completely (zero COVID). Most European countries eagerly embraced lockdowns, simultaneously jettisoning decades-long pandemic planning based on concentrating help on vulnerable groups and avoiding coercive methods.
There never was any assessment or analysis of any kind about the secondary costs of lockdowns. There was no planning. Alternatives were never discussed. Governments hid behind their claim that they were “following the science.”
The lockdowns directly destroyed hundreds of thousands of businesses, devastated young people’s lives, and planted the seeds of future illnesses and deaths due to foregone “non-essential” medical checkups and procedures. Politicians, with very few exceptions, took the coward’s way out.
The lockdown was an experiment in authoritarian government unmatched in our history, even in wartime. In my state of New Jersey, the governor issued an order that stated no one would leave their home except as permitted by the governor. I ignored it. But most did not. This is called authoritarianism, and it’s very bad.
“Ministers and scientists responsible for a policy that has inflicted untold misery on an entire population naturally find it hard to admit they may have been mistaken. But closing ranks against the public interest usually fails in the end. There will be more embarrassing disclosures after this one. The official narrative is beginning to unravel.” – Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption
People are waking up to the fact that they were duped and didn’t like it. Many people, however, get all their news from Facebook, Twitter, CNN/NYT/MSNBC and the like. Those outlets will continue to fight the flow of information to folks but will fail in the end. We will soon discover more about the greatest public policy failure in the last 100 years.
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Please read my new book, “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).
Great article. Scary stuff.
These lockdowns were a tragedy and we will feel the effects now for at least a decade or more.
Gen. Satterfield, nailed it once again and thank you for what you are doing to help us be better leaders by seeing reality more clearly. And, as well, you are showing us what happens when leaders fail. Bad things happen and they happen fast.
Too bad our senior folks in politics dont’ read this website. Gen. Satterfield is spot on and he should be read. ELECT GEN. SATTERFIELD to Congress! He could clean up the mess.
I’m okay with that. 👍
Yeah, thinking the same thing the other day. Our politicians are too caught up in the daily me-me-me agenda to think on their own. Hey, Gen. Satterfield, bought your book, “Our Longest Year in Iraq.” Wonderful reading!!!!
“Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.” – Thomas Sowell
What a distinction there is between anti-lockdown protesters and socialists. We can agree to disagree agreeably. Socialists can’t stand one divergent opinion. This leads to the dumbing-down of their side. It’s like Animal Farm where the sheep kept bleeting, “Four legs good; too legs bad.”
Right American Girl, I can vouch for the total dishonesty of the news media. 👀
Gen. Satterfield has written extensively about socialism and its sister ideologies. Look at the devastation of the 20th century just to get an inkling of how bad it is when applied. Yet, socialists are quick to stand up and say that was not “real” socialism and if they were in charge, it would have worked. Oh, how brave (not) of them to say so.
Yep, and Gen. Satterfield was on top of it. Headline from his blog in November 2020 after Joe Biden “wins” the presidential election, “Will Joe Biden and Socialism Win?” The answer was YES. Now we see the results.
THE GREATEST PUBLIC POLICY FAILURE ever in America and probably the world. We will be reading about this in history books for hundreds of years in the future and looking back and thinking, “How could those folks been so stupid?”
Following the enormous turnouts at Freedom Day rallies in capital cities across Australia, the mainstream media scrambled to find someone they can blame. It didn’t take long for them to label it a far-right conspiracy linked to people they hate most. And this lie was repeated by leftists everywhere.
Bam, got that right, Aussie. Thanks. Welcome aboard to Gen. Satterfield’s leadership website where we talk about what’s important in the world.
Here one example among thousands, “Opinion: No more fake COVID lockdowns; time for a strict shelter-in-place”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/01/14/opinion-no-more-fake-lockdowns-time-for-a-real-shelter-in-place/
And there are no consequences for being on the side of tyranny.
The lockdowns have devastated everyone except for the elite and wealthy. With at least half the population blindly following along with the tyrannical lockdowns, the elite have the incentive to never loosen their grip on society.
The medical bureaucrats will find any excuse to continue the lockdowns forever and restrict individual rights. And the Fake News Media is in cahoots with the elite like always.
Yes, we are ALL starting to see we were “duped” and we ALL don’t like it.
Right, Army Captain, no one likes to be made a fool. ❤
Most of us were fooled but I was not. As you all know, I wrote on Gen. Satterfield’s leadership forum, right here, that it was all a mistake. And, most of you folks agreed. Now we are finding out more and more and it doesn’t look very good.
Silly Man, yes, you and others figured it out quick. But for those who get their news through biased news sources, they even today don’t get it. They are told you are just a fascist, sexist, racists, … you name it. That’s their argument.
As always, Kenny you and the others are spot on with your analysis.
Well said guys!!!!!