Freedom has been lost in this country

Re: Guest column: Those upset about freedom these days obviously never lived in real police state, by Lloyd Brownjohn, Dec. 20

Mr. Brown-john, as a professor of political science, should realize a police state does not happen overnight.

He stated in the police state countries he visited citizens were afraid to talk in public or in private because the walls have ears and he was physically accosted by a rifle butt to the back.

Now let's look at the past making of a police state.

First, a charismatic politician becomes viewed as some sort of demigod who will make the country into an earthly paradise and solve all ills.

Villains are then created, who are the cause of all the country's problems. To conquer these villains, children were taught the political narrative in schools, day cares and media. The population at large became what could only be called hysterical and accepted restrictions.

Finances were also seized by the authorities. The people were afraid to talk; neighbours, family and friends turned those that did not comply into the authorities.

Let's look more recently at COVID-19, our new villain.

Governments decided to try to control the virus and promised the solution would be the vaccine. Once available some of the people willingly received it, others did not.

Governments declared when a certain percentage of the population received the vaccination everything would be back to normal as people would reach herd immunity. But governments kept changing the percentage level — 50, 60 and 75, etc. The governments also utilized lockdowns. If they were effective then one, two at most, would have been sufficient to stop the virus.

We had to fill out paperwork or dress accordingly (face coverings), show our proper papers to go to a restaurant, travel or almost any venue outside our homes. Some were fined for violating the directives.

Another villain is the unvaccinated. Many lost jobs.

Those people haven't changed, just the political narrative and hysteria.

All along the mantra was “we don't want to overtax the health care system.” Just how bad a shape is our health care system in?

Welcome to the new Canada.

Irene Olsen, Windsor