Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer strikes again -- this time seeming so Red Queen megalomaniacal that observers might be tempted to ask, “Are you kidding?!”
Her latest attempt at omnipotence goes into effect today, August 10. It’s called Executive Order 164, and it will -- get this -- mandate that all humans aged two and up must wear face-masks when aboard buses or other forms of transportation en route to or from a school, daycare, or camp.
Alerting many Michigan residents to the shocking move, Michigan Capitol Confidential also noted:
Children age 4 and up must wear a face mask at child care facilities or camp while in indoor hallways or common areas.
And the Gretchenmeister Meisterburger also “strongly encourages” the two-year-olds to wear face masks when in classrooms, cabins, homes, or “similar” indoor settings.
Isn’t that nice?
Of course, her Executive Order isn’t really directed at the kids. Why, that would just be bizarre and outlandish, since, of course, two-year-olds can’t read very well, they don’t follow orders well, and they certainly don’t suffer masks on their faces for more than a couple milliseconds before they either rip them off or begin screaming in justified offense.
No, no. Hers is a threat to the parents and people providing parentally-approved childcare, education, and camping services – and that’s just a whole bunch more reasonable and moral.
So have no fear, Gretchen is here, and violation of her “mask-the-child” command – like a violation of her extended mask order for adults in so-called “public places” (which includes private businesses she calls public), will be a MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE, punishable with a $500 fine. The Gretchmeister General claims that no term of state-ordered jail “confinement” is attached to the punishment, but that’s not really true.
As anyone familiar with political philosophy or simple logic knows, behind every government dictate is the threat of not only a fine, but of physical force and additional penalties should one not respond to the original threatening fine. If one would prefer to use one’s money for something other than paying government extortion, the government will take additional action, including an increase in the fine. Should the freedom-loving civilian simply ask to be left alone in his or her home, to be left in peace in what is supposed to be his or her property, police are allowed to strap on their firearms, invade said property, and take the new enemy of the state away from home for a little “jail-stay-cation.”
But, of course, Gretchen Whitmer is already invading homes and telling parents how to raise their kids, and, by extension, she is telling those with whom parents might contract at private camps, schools, daycare centers, and on buses, how they will run their businesses and how they will interact with the parents who would hire them to care for their kids.
Not that one might think she would be bothered, but if Governor Whitmer ever wanted to see the difference between the force of the state and free will, she could stop commanding people via government, and, instead, enter the private sector. If she ever wanted to see the contrast between the state and a competitive market that caters to parents who truly care for their own kids, she might pause, consider that she is acting like a matriarch who seems to think all kids are hers, and try her hand at the private childcare business.
That way, she could see if parents and kids really respond kindly to her idea of forcing them to don masks – and if it’s even feasible, on the practical level.
Ahh, but we who believe in leaving parents free to NOT psychologically scar their own kids per a government diktat must be blind to Whitmer’s higher calling. She’s looking out for society, after all, and she has to stop kids from picking up this virus, not to protect the low-risk kids, but to stop the kids from transmitting the virus to high-risk older people and the immune-compromised.
But this is the case for almost every virus.
And is Whitmer prepared to mandate masks forevermore?
The question will stand – at least until enough civilians stand up against this Kafkaesque coercion, or the case runs through court after court filled with politically-appointed judges who might – or might not – recognize that the U.S. Constitution prohibits this kind of authoritarian activity.
Meanwhile, if you’re passing through Michigan, try not to be too disturbed by the cries of the young. It seems that Gretchen Whitmer thinks their distress is for the good of all.