It is a matter of astounding bewilderment to me how, over a few days in February and March 2020, the entire UK population could have lost its ancient freedoms and human rights, become locked down under house arrest, have its rights of free association suspended and major censorship of free speech introduced. People who made the millions of videos and messages that challenged the “official narrative” and criticised the governing classes were effectively silenced by a compliant social media.
During the long days of the Covid-19 lockdown, people forgot the lifestyle they enjoyed before, how they took freedom of thought and expression for granted and had high expectations of life. Once the carefully scripted narrative of fear took over, forces hostile to humanity saw their opportunity. There was a sudden realization in the corridors of darkness that human civilization had gone soft and rolled over. We had come to accept absurd and demeaning instructions from a government too weak and enfeebled to exercise effective leadership. We stood queuing outside supermarkets, being told by overbearing and arrogant shop staff to “wait there,” “stay two-metres apart,” “stand behind the line,” and “cleanse your hands.” I was actually told forcefully by a checkout operator in Aldi’s to “stand over there!” and the following day in Tesco was told by an assistant that if I didn’t have a trolley I would be asked to leave.
In a matter of weeks, the customer service and courteousness we have come to expect in British culture was replaced by rudeness and boorishness. The most alarming feature is that we acquiesced; we accepted these as justifiable measures and fell meekly in line with whatever rude and ill-mannered treatment was meted out to us. For the first time ever, we began to accept what we were told without question, believing the most ludicrous assertions. Scrutiny of authority was abandoned as people became like putty in the hands of clueless government. The long-established great institutions such as parliament, the police, the universities, the media and – unbelievably – the church acquiesced without so much as a murmur.
But as further lockdowns wear on, the mood is becoming increasingly feverish as people begin to recognise an underlying discontent; people instinctively know they are not being told the full truth. There is awareness of the old schoolboy maxim “If you tell a lie, tell a big one and stick to it.” But the light of truth is beginning to dawn that we have been told a “big lie” …. the biggest ever.