I felt inspired to clean my car the other day, inside and out. It was time.
I had litter-bugged the passenger seat pretty good, and in amongst the junk and crumbs and things that belonged elsewhere I discovered a scrap of paper with the following scribbled on it:
[illegible] podcast [illegible] TPD: unhealthy relationships!
I know where this came from. I was on a road trip recently, listening to a podcast, and I took note of something I heard, thinking it would be a good topic for TPD. (Yep, it’s true: I listen to other podcasts.) I wish I could tell you which podcast it was and give you a link, but unfortunately I can’t make out all of what I wrote. This is not the first time my lousy handwriting has let me down.
Anyway, in the podcast a woman was being interviewed about something-or-other, and at the end she made an off-topic, side comment about something she had emailed the host prior to the show. She said it was a list of indicators that someone’s in an abusive relationship – the type of thing that’s meant for spouses of rotten husbands – and she encouraged the host to take a look at it from the perspective of our personal relationship with our government.
15 Signs
Well, that perked my ears. Thus the scribbled note to self. But to be honest, I had forgotten all about it until I cleaned my car out and found that scrap of paper. So here we are.
Just as you’d imagine, Googl’in for “signs of abusive relationship” dredges up a whole world of crud you’d rather not think about. I only lingered long enough to snag the following infographic (from the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program):
Apparently, if you can answer “yes” to six or more of these indicators, you’re in an abusive relationship. Answering yes to ten or more is supposed to be a cause for real concern, and professional intervention is recommended.
Let’s have a look at these indicators in the way suggested by the woman in the above-mentioned podcast, and see if this helps us get some insight into our relationship with our government. Let’s see if any of these register as “yes” for us? Here we go.
- Stop you seeing friends and family
The recent and current lock-downs immediately come to mind. Do we think lock-downs are an effective and necessary safety measure? Or do we think they’re just a power trip?
2. Won’t let you go out without permission
Curfews, lock-downs, border crossings, and more. All of these are imposed upon individuals by the State. Are we happy with this, or do we find these measures to be odd?
3. Tell you what to wear
There’s the whole mask thing. But maybe masks are just a corner case. How about this: Are there any government (not private) facilities that would deny you from entering if you’re wearing a F*CK Biden T-shirt? What about a F*CK Trump T-shirt?
4. Monitor your phone or emails
We all recognize that this one’s a clear “yes,” right?
5. Control the finances, or won’t let you work
It’s clear that our beloved government controls our (fiat) money supply, interest rates, inflation, wage rates, taxation, and so on. Welfare and “stimulus” handouts could be viewed as sneaky ways to encourage people not to work and be dependent upon the State. But then again, some people do not view taxation of personal income as robbery. And some people believe financial handouts are meant to help people.
6. Control what you read, watch and say
If we’re being honest, I think we all have to admit “yes” on this one too.
7. Monitor everything you do
Some people might say “yes, and it’s disturbing.” Some people might say “yes, but what’s the harm if I’m not doing anything wrong?” Some people might say “no.” Pick your camp.
8. Punish you for breaking the rules, but the rules keep changing!
Marijuana is illegal. No wait – it’s legal. Actually, it can be legal or illegal depending on your magic decoder ring settings and the phase of the moon. All this could mean jail time for you. Or not. It’s confusing. The question is this: Is it intended to be confusing? Or is it just a circus of good people being wishy-washy?
9. Tell you it is for your own good, and that they know better
Phrases like “Follow the science” or “Listen to the experts” could potentially be mantras for this kind of thing. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with following scientists and experts if they are intelligent and benevolent.
10. Don’t allow you to question it
Is our current “cancel culture” a bad thing? Or should people be silenced when the government decides they are dangerous?
11. Tell you you’re crazy, and no one agrees with you
What if they tell you you’re a conspiracy theorist?! Uh oh.
12. Call you names or shame you for being stupid or selfish
Shaming seems to have become an extremely popular move in the last year. If you don’t obey the government’s rules because you think they’re silly or wrong, should you be chided back into line? Furthermore, does it make you a bad person if your don’t agree with the official narrative?
13. Gaslight you, challenge your memory of events, make you doubt yourself
You should be very wary of taking a vaccine that was rushed through the approval process by Trump’s Operation Warp Speed program. Wait. We never said that. We promise the vaccines are very, very safe, and we think everyone should take them, even young children and people who have previously contracted Covid-19. Is this an example of gaslighting? Or is it just an example of high-level incompetence? [This is near-current, so it’s easy to spot. If you’re interested in a deeper dive, check out the Mandela Effect.]
14. Dismiss your opinions
This is very similar to #10. Although, opinions do not always come packaged as questions. I guess one way to look at it is this: Do you have opinions that you know are not “popular” or that you think might get you into trouble if you said them out loud?
15. Play the victim. If things go wrong, it’s all your fault
Do policymakers typically apologize for their mistakes? Or is it more common for them to play the old blame game? Here’s an example to consider: Official history tells us that the stock market crash in 2008 occurred because too many people took out loans that they couldn’t afford, and that lenders relaxed their strict lending standards to extend credit to people who were less-than-qualified. Do you think this official story smells kinda like everyday people are getting blamed for something that occurred for other reasons? Or is this how it really went down?
Phil’s Two Cents
So…Does this list of indicators have any relevance for you when you think about your relationship with our government? Objectively speaking, do you think you might tolerate things from your government that you would never stand for in a personal relationship?
If I review these indicators, I would say “yes” to all 15 of them. Gulp.
But hey – that’s just me, TPD’s tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy guy.
– “Phil”
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