By Bruce Richter

The left, the Democrats, and the Biden administration continually use the weather as part of their plan to control the population and redistribute wealth by constantly referring to the “climate crisis.” Fear is the emotion that is manipulated to gain acceptance by the people.

Early on in the pandemic, President Trump was called out and portrayed as dishonest by the media and the Democrats for attempting to reassure the public in order to prevent panic and fear as COVID began to spread across the U.S.

President Trump knew that panic and fear would only spread like wildfire as this new virus infected more and more people. And he knew that a panicked and fearful population would not think rationally. The country would fare much better by remaining calm and logically and methodically dealing with the virus.

But the media and the Democrats pushed the panic button. And pushed it! And pushed it!

We all know about the lockdowns, the essential and non-essential employees, travel restrictions, social distancing, masks, etc.

That’s when the real climate crisis began. The climate of fear.

As usual, Democrats don’t waste a crisis, and their useful idiots in the media filled every available minute of airtime and every available line of print to stoke fear of the pandemic.

In most democratically controlled states, they weaponized fear and used it to take away our constitutional rights in the name of safety. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but churches were shut down. However, people could go to Walmart and the grocery store as long as the mask was worn and social distancing was practiced.

But the churches were closed. Period. No discussion. Somehow masks and social distancing would not work in churches! Churches were closed at a time when parishioners needed the strength, comfort, and stability provided by their faith to deal with the climate of fear surrounding them.

The Constitution guarantees the right to assemble, but that right was curtailed. People were ordered to stay inside their homes except to work, grocery shop, or for medical reasons. Nursing homes became prisons. All visitation was forbidden. Social interaction was forbidden as restaurants, bars, and other social venues were shut down. Even more injurious on the human social scale, all schools were closed, depriving our children of their social skills development.

The climate of fear grew as people were afraid to leave their homes for any reason. Many were so overcome with fear that they would have necessities delivered to their door but would not open the door to retrieve the packages for hours. And then only with rubber gloves and antiseptic sprays to clean everything. Stoked by the ever present death toll graphics used by the media, the climate of fear was out of control.

When the pandemic first appeared and these measures and others were implemented across the country, the health of the people was the primary concern. But concerns over health quickly took a back seat to politicization of this pandemic.

As time passed and more reliable data was compiled on the virus, most Republican-led states began to relax restrictions, but the Democrat governors did no such thing. Churches filed lawsuits against various states charging the denial of constitutional rights. The Supreme Court sided with the churches. SCOTUS sent a clear message to the country stating there were no exceptions in the Constitution allowing suspension of rights because of emergencies. The majority of justices went further to say religion was singled out to be free from government interference while bars had no such distinction, yet they had been allowed to open. Some states refused to acknowledge the decision. Now people consumed with fear were confused as well. The Supreme Court was being ignored. What was happening to their country? There appeared to be no remedy to the constitutional violations. The climate of fear was aided by confusion.

Adding to the confusion, the CDC seemingly changed its guidelines every few days. Not just subtle changes, but clear contradictions!

“Masks are not necessary!” was followed by “Masks are necessary!” and then “Maybe masks should be doubled.” Continuous waffling by the CDC has done nothing to alleviate fear. The CDC has only added to the confusion and fear.

Almost one year later, we now know the survival rate for COVID is 99.8%. Yet most Democrat-led states are still under some sort of restrictions.

“Business as usual” is a phrase from long ago. It probably won’t be used for some time to come. Is a 99.8% survival rate not good enough to end these violations of our inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

I ask: What survival rate does it take to be free from government interference? 99.9%? 100%?

The climate of fear is still strong as I see children dutifully put their masks on as habitually as they do their clothes.

The fear and confusion is dominating elderly adults as I engage them in conversation. One moment they seem relaxed and comfortable enough to travel to the store for errands, and the next moment they refuse to leave their home and will only entertain visiting family members who agree to remain outdoors during the visit.

Their abrupt change in personal contact guidelines is usually the result of some media story or neighborhood gossip.

After an announcement was made at a local pharmacy indicating the vaccine would be available on a certain date, the store was swamped by people trying to get to the front of the line.

The pandemic has been used by the Democrat-controlled states to weaponize fear. They have severely restricted constitutional rights in order to determine just how far the people will allow themselves to be pushed in the name of safety. (Not just the people, but the courts as well.) They have laid down rules for citizens and businesses, then hypocritically ignored those rules for themselves.

Yes, we have a climate crisis alright! And the climate is fear!