It's Going to Happen. Don't Fall for it.

Let me tell you what is going to happen.

No, I am not a soothsayer. I am not a fortune teller. I am not a prophet crying in the wilderness. But I am about to tell you the future.

This isn't me

But first, let’s step back. Yeah, yeah, reverse burying the lede or whatever.

Here’s an honest question: Are the citizens of Michigan really going to forget what has happened to our state in the last two years when the 2022 election rolls around?

I’m asking honestly, because apparently I have no clue whatsoever what’s going on in the minds of Michigan citizens. I know what I think is going on, but based on what’s happened in our state since 2020 I am concerned that I’m horribly wrong.

You see, I would think based on everything that has happened since 2020, the citizens of Michigan would be nearly universally furious. I would think they have seen and understood the amount of obvious treachery, deceit, power grabs, and hypocrisy of our current political leadership and are sick just thinking about it. I would think they will do everything in their power to ensure that come 2022, the people who have been in charge of this state over the last two years, will be shown the door and never heard from again.

But here’s the problem with what I think about the citizens of Michigan.

I never thought the citizens of Michigan would allow public schools to shut down or go virtual for months at a time. I never thought they would allow their three-year-olds and five-year-olds to be forced into masks or relinquish the normality of their childhoods. I never thought they would allow local businesses to be forced to close their doors indefinitely. I never thought they would allow the government to tell their churches they cannot be open for worship.

That sounds judgmental. It sounds like I am going all “holier than thou” on the citizens of Michigan. Like you let it happen but I didn’t. I promise you, it’s not that. I’m one of the people that allowed this and I’m guilty as much as anyone.

Either way, you may be thinking, “Oh come on man! What did you think would happen when the government started its overreach? Did you think the communities would get torches and pitchforks and march on Lansing?”

Not what I want, expect, or advise

No. I didn’t think that. But I did think that communities around the state would stand up for their local autonomy and reject at least the silly mandates, at minimum to the point that the government would have to take more effort to force their hands. But that’s not what happened. Even after things got obviously stupid, people continued to fall in line.

Again, you probably think I’m crazy. You’re thinking, “Seriously, dude? The risk of outright disobedience was too high for all these groups and the situation was too precarious and unknown. Businesses and schools and churches couldn’t stand up to the potential consequences that the government was threatening them with. In order for these places and people to actually unite and reject the government outright, the situation would have had to be far more serious than it ever was.”

My response to that is simple: What’s more serious than forcing two-year-olds to wear masks?

That statement will upset some people. It will enrage others. Their predictable response will be, “What!? Many things are more serious than that you baby! You’re crazy if you think a few small mandates are as serious as it gets!”

But to me, that response misses the far grander point. When I say few things are more serious than two-year-olds being forced to wear masks, I’m not talking about mask mandates at all. I’m talking about the underlying issue of some government official who lives hundreds of miles away from you metaphorically invading your home and telling you how to raise your infant. And yes. That’s what happened. Word for word. Idea for idea. That is what happened. I don’t need to tell you about slippery slopes, but that one is disastrous.

What on earth are we doing?

So getting back on point, like I said, I’ve been wrong about the citizens of Michigan before. I may be wrong now. But let’s go back to my predicting the future, because I promise you, I really do know exactly what is going to happen leading up to the 2022 gubernatorial election.

You ready? Here it is:

First, the media fear mongering related to Covid is going to virtually disappear. For any tangible intents and purposes, the disappearance will be almost entirely. This will not happen immediately, but slowly, over the course of a few months. By the end of the spring of 2022, you will see a huge difference in the media representation of Covid-19 compared to now. Then, some form of victory is going to be publicly declared, specifically by leaders who are attempting to get reelected.

Next, the alleged “victory” is going to be portrayed by the media as being the specific result of the work of the current leaders, again, especially those whose job will be up for vote soon. “Joe Biden did it, his mandate helped end Covid” or “Gretchen Whitmer saved lives! Studies say without her policies thousands more would have died!” This will be the media narrative for MONTHS leading up to next November.

Next, normalcy will seemingly return. Any and all remaining mandates will be thrown out the window to give the impression that things are back to normal. Pats on the back will be given, stories will be spun about how “It was tough but we did it together!”, and every nagging Covid media story that the media has been running endlessly over the last two years will conveniently vanish.

Lastly, some new government led feel good endeavor, likely one that will be popular with specific, large voting blocs, will magically appear and become the dominant media story for some time. Seemingly universal fawning will occur about the “strength of Gretchen Whitmer” and how she “beat back the most destructive single issue any political leader has ever faced” and how “we couldn’t have done it without her!” All in all it will be super obvious…and super nauseating.

So that’s it. This IS what will happen. I have told you.

The question, of course, is will the citizens of Michigan fall for such an obvious narrative change right before the election.

I don’t know the answer. I don’t think they would.

But then again, would the citizens of Michigan allow their two-year-olds to be force masked in order to attend daycare?