There is something that has been hanging over my mind over the last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Between all the measures installed by the government, be it lockdowns or even the current vaccine mandates coming up around the country, every action that the government has taken thus far has been rooted in the idea of preventing death. More so, it has been in reaction to the tremendous fear of the population to the idea of death. This concept has driven policy so much that even vaccinated people, who with two vaccine doses have practically zero chance of dying from COVID, still are told to wear masks and to be afraid of unvaccinated people. So, in my mind, there has been a complete change in the concept of death over the past generation.

The concept of martyrdom has played prominently in all the major religions in the world for millennia, whereby a Christian, Jewish or Muslim person would be willing to give his or her life to preserve the sanctity of the creator. It has played even more so in modern times, with people willing to give their lives for a cause greater than themselves, much like the duty our service members undertake whenever they suit up in uniform overseas.

You see, the idea of death that has been most prominent throughout history was one of a sanctified process, one of new beginnings and one of purity. It is nothing close to the trembling fear that many in the country today feel with regards to death. Through this fear, it has resulted in the upending of the lives of everyone, regardless of their fear.

The fear of death is surely rooted in the fear of the unknown. What comes after life? What happens when you are dead? Different religions and belief systems have different interpretations to these questions, giving different people different hopes and feelings of comfort as they confront death.

Though we have no definitive answer as to what comes next, the comfort that there may be something else brings peace to those in their last moments on earth. Therefore, even those most ardently against religion during the lively periods of their lives often turn to religion and the creator in their final moments, despite their earlier reservations.

With COVID, though, these ideas have been almost entirely abandoned to the point of insanity among the masses. Early in the pandemic, when the scope of COVID was largely unknown and our perceptions of the virus came from misleading images and sources in China, the fear was at its greatest. This led governments around the world to closing their borders and shutting down all nonessential work and activity. Businesses shuttered, offices closed and people lost their entire livelihoods. As the pandemic progressed, and we learned more about who was truly impacted by COVID and who was not, this fear only grew stronger. The mass idea that only a vaccine could fix the world drove continued mask mandates and policy even in outdoor settings and schools, where there is practically no risk at all of serious infection. The optimist may have truly thought that once a vaccine came, the world truly would return to normal.

Much like most of the pandemic, the opposite occurred. Early on, we learned, correctly, that those who are fully vaccinated are extremely protected from serious infection of COVID. While breakthrough cases could occur, they were not killing people. Yet crucial opportunities were missed to bring forth the truth in the efficacy of the vaccine. One prime example was Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address, where the fully vaccinated president, and many fully vaccinated members of Congress, were still mandated to wear masks. Next came a fully vaccinated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overseas with a mask and a face shield. The images told Americans loud and clear that they were not protected even with the vaccine. These images told Americans to continue to fear death like nothing else, regardless of their vaccination status.

Next, the goal posts kept moving. Dr. Anthony Fauci kept saying more and more people need vaccinations for the country to reach herd immunity. All the while, Biden and the media were chastising any Americans who refused the shot, even as many had natural immunity from prior infection. Mandates followed, and the growing fear became ever more evident. Biden and his allies continue to push the narrative that unless everyone gets vaccinated, you should be literally scared to death. These scare tactics have led to severe depression, with people staying home, increasing drug use and suicide rates. The extreme fear of death is actually causing people to bring death upon themselves.

There is a simple fact in the world that many realize yet fail to actualize. It is the idea that freedom does not come from the government, Fauci or the CDC; freedom comes from the creator. The famous Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata famously said, “It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”

The sad fact today is the extreme fear of death has led people to “live” while being enslaved to this false ideology of fear. The masses are living on their knees, giving up their rights and freedoms, all the while blind to reality. The few who, vaccinated or not, fight back from this wretched ideology are the ones who may die, but they will do so standing tall, fighting for their beliefs, and for a cause greater than themselves.

Remember, death is inevitable for all. It is the one concept that unites all the people of the world. Rather than living your life in fear of that inevitable day, live your life with your chin up, knowing that any day could be your last. Live each day to your fullest.

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