A Second Wave of What?

It is amazing how often “science” means whatever a certain segment of the population wants to do anyway.

At times, this convenient science is awarded the definite article, implying none other exists, as when Joe Biden says he will follow “the science” in deciding whether to lock Americans down or force them to wear masks.

Meanwhile, equally rigorous science, or even basic arithmetic, that arrives at different conclusions or raises unhelpful questions is dismissed, ignored, and censored.

For example, on the topic of masks, there is copious science, from diverse bodies all over the world, averring that the wearing of them by the general populace ranges from useless to dangerous. Nevertheless, when politicians and non-governmental busybodies discuss whether to compel people to don 2020’s amulet of virtue and subjugation, this particular science goes unmentioned.

Similarly, at the time of this writing, science of the approved sort is ubiquitous in the media, claiming that a “second wave” of COVID-19 is coming this autumn.

If that is so, using only good science (this is, the kind one can post on Facebook or YouTube without fear of it being struck down), it is fair to ask: A second wave of what?

Even before the Centers for Disease Control quietly revised their numbers recently, admitting that 94 percent of reported COVID deaths were not directly caused by the disease, the approved science and numbers used to justify this crisis had not panned out.

When this began, and Americans were asked for “15 days to slow the spread” — which sounds downright adorable now — the worst-case science of the finest minds estimated the COVID mortality rate could be as high as 4 percent, and warned that hospitals would be overwhelmed with patients.

While scientists battle over COVID’s true mortality rate today, all concur it is an infinitesimal fraction of what was originally feared. Hospitals and health systems have not been overrun, but the ancillary harm we hoped to avoid occurred anyway, inasmuch as other treatments have been delayed or cancelled, causing untold pain and death.

All this was done for a disease that will not kill you, unless you are elderly and otherwise infirm, and for which you will probably require a test to find out if you have it. As many have asked, were it not for politicians and the media, would you even know this “crisis” exists?

I do not think I have had COVID-19 (who could say that of Ebola or the Black Death?), but I accept that a case of of could be deeply unpleasant for me. I believe in science, and I am not smart enough to suppose I can twist reality to suit my preferences. This is in contrast to those who slap a lab coat on their opinion and call it science.

Simply put, COVID-19 is nowhere near the horror we thought it would be. And yet, we are cautioned to hunker down for a “second wave,” as though the phantoms we feared in March have suddenly come to life.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the CDC’s massive revision — which, for context, brought the number of COVID deaths down to just a shade above 9,200 in a nation of over 330 million — was the awareness that it would make no difference.

The same policymakers and journalists are still playacting at science, dreaming up new mandates and sanctions to guard against a miniscule menace. The admission of America’s most august scientific body that only 6 percent of its reported deaths are directly attributable to the disease has done nothing to slow them down.

Indeed, it seems we are being prepared for an acceleration — “second wave” and all.

Some have suggested that all of this — the lockdowns, the masks, the ubiquitous rules — is intended to impose a new regime upon us — a Flu World Order, if you will — culminating in mandatory vaccinations.

Having never been invited to be part of a conspiracy, I cannot comment. I wonder, however, if another inoculation is coming, though not the one they intended.

Could it be, having been so badly misled and manipulated, many of us are immune to falling for this again?

Almost all of us were eager and willing to do our part when this started. We were relieved to see our worst fears unrealized and took our leaders at their word. Seeing now where that got us, have we developed antibodies against petty tyranny?

Which do you fear most — getting sick in a second wave of COVID, or losing your freedom to a second wave of control?

Theo Caldwell wanted to be left alone. Contact him at theo@theocaldwell.com