There always seems to be a gap between an advancement and deployment of something new, and the planning that needs to take place prior to implementation, namely concerning the long-term impacts, including the ethics and morality, of such an advancement. This is like going to war without knowing what the end game looks like, and having an exit strategy. A sudden advance, followed by an immediate retreat, can cause the inevitable effect of WHIPLASH.
We have heard the term, “shooting from the hip”. That refers to pulling your six-shooter out of the holster around your hips, and then firing from that location. Not a very good way to be accurate. It would always be better to raise your weapon to shoulder level, focus on the target by using your line-of-sight, and only then discharging your weapon. Taking your time, aiming appropriately, always leads to a greater degree of accuracy. So it is with anything one does in life. Clearly recognizing the goal to be achieved, and taking proper aim, considering all intervening factors, always will produce better results. There will be less wasted efforts or materials, and a much less chance of negatively impacting surrounding entities. To not do so leads one open to unintended consequences, causing a backlash or rebound, a WHIPLASH effect.
We hope that a majority of people have never experienced WHIPLASH to your physical body. It usually happens when moving forward in a car at moderate speeds, and then coming to an abrupt halt. Seat belts keep your body from flying forward, but nothing but the advancement of airbags, and subsequent deployment, will prevent your head from being catapulted forward. The rebound from that forward position, although somewhat impeded by the advancement of headrests, causes the WHIPLASH effect. This causes damage to your neck and spine, and can usually be identified by those having been the recipient of such an event, by the person wearing a balky neck brace, holding the head erect, preventing movement so the body, and associated treatments, can produce the desired healing over time.
In this blog, we are not talking about a WHIPLASH affecting your physical body, but a form that impacts the emotional and phycological well being of any individual. In our current climate of COVID-19 hysteria, there has been ample opportunity for those in positions of authority to wield their power, often in ways reminiscent of “shooting from the hip”. It must be stated though that this has not always been entirely their fault. There is always a bigger fish in the ocean that exercises its will over the smaller fish. In our case, the current government, often using undefined or flawed scientific evidence, has dictated, to those easily influenced, policies or procedures not well conceived, or even purposely designed to bring about effects suited to produce a desired course, completely unrelated to the crisis at hand. Those in power at any level consequently make decisions, seemingly at random, apart from reasoned thought or scientific proof, that leaves those impacted stuck in a never ending surf of tide-in, tide-out, wave-in, undertow-out. It is difficult to make sense of this form of WHIPLASH. It keeps one off balance, being easily manipulated, relying to a great degree, and even becoming completely dependent upon a tyrannical government. It ultimately engenders confusion, frustration, and distrust. This is not the form of freedom guaranteed to any of us in our Constitution.
It is time for us to regain control of our freedoms, and not be controlled by the WHIPLASH effect of those who claim the superior knowledge, or who make changes they claim are needed to cement their will over the people. We need to be unified in our efforts to identify our target, to be deliberate in our aim, and to achieve our desired outcome. IT IS TIME TO MAKE PLANS FOR ALL OF US TO GO MASK FREE IF POSSIBLE, AND FOR ALL BUSINESSES AND INSTITUTIONS TO FULLY OPEN UP BEGINING JULY 4, 2021.