A newly updated “classified” intelligence report states that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely came from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China. Sources say the U.S. Department of Energy only has low confidence in the “lab leak” theory. So, although the government is finally coming to grips with the fact that this virus did not simply appear out of thin air, it is also not quite prepared to fully admit that it was totally wrong.

The obvious question, the elephant in the room, is as follows: What is the average American supposed to do with this day-late, dollar-short information?

For years, anyone who attempted to pin the virus’s origin on the lab in Wuhan was considered a heretic at worst and a racist at best. People all over the world, not just American citizens, were supposedly “tin-foil-hat-wearers” and other random pejorative terms for simply stating the obvious. Americans were specifically lumped into the “Trump supporter” and “right-wing nut job” categories. It was simply impossible to voice a logical opinion about COVID that did not align with mainstream thought without being attacked.

The initial explanation of COVID starting with a random Chinese person eating an unclean bat never made any sense, especially considering the circumstances. First of all, global contagions don’t start from random food-borne illnesses. At least, nothing like that has happened in a very long time.

Wuhan has a gain-of-function facility smack dab in the middle of the city. The purpose of these facilities is to experiment on viruses, just like the coronavirus (akin to the common cold). China is a notoriously filthy place where a single bar of soap may be difficult to come across even in a hospital. The obvious thing that happened here was that the virus escaped the lab in Wuhan due to careless practices. It infected citizens locally and then spread out to the entire world through airplane travel. China should be held liable here due to improper practices at the lab and also for allowing citizens to travel globally while restricting local movement.

Now, part of the U.S. government admits what millions of people around the world suspected for the past three years. And it owns up to this without any sort of apology. No admission of guilt, and, quite frankly, barely even a complete admission. People who lost their jobs, maybe even their lives, are left without recourse. Those who fought the good fight can shout “I told you so!” from the mountaintops, but the damage done by government overreach may never be repaired.

Maybe the government had internal battles among actual scientists and researchers who wanted to alert the public of the truth that they have known for years now. Politicians are motivated to keep the truth under wraps for their own sake. “Scientists” who also blend into the political world, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, are the perfect case study for this conflict. Fauci would say certain things publicly that made sense from a scientific level, and then retract those things when they conflicted with politics. Fauci famously admitted to “lying” about the efficacy (or lack thereof) of mask-wearing early on because he did not want there to be a “run” on masks. And the ironic part about his admission is that he did not lie in the first place. Fauci originally said that masks do not work as the wearer may think they do, and he was right.

Another “admission” from the federal government and related officials, like CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, was about the whole idea of masks. For years, the American people were told that mask-wearing was essential. If we did not wear masks, then we were uncaring beings who scoffed at the idea of protecting society at large. Messaging on masks was combined with even more ominous warnings about becoming vaccinated. The news became so infatuated with carrying out the federal government’s decree that they started to run ridiculous stories about the benefits of wearing two or three masks at once. All of this was a completely absurd mess.

The United States is a beacon of hope to millions, if not billions, across the world. However, the government of this great country has become unrecognizable, a monster with its tentacles wrapped up in global politics that often interfere with the lives of its citizens. So much deceit and obvious graft are present within the government that it is no surprise the average person’s confidence in the system is at rock bottom. It is not quite clear what can be done to turn this around.

A great way to start is by leveling with the American people in a clear and concise way, instead of gaslighting them into oblivion for the sake of global politics and financial gain.