The Chinese virus pandemic has been dragging on for over a year now. First, it was no masks, then it was definitely masks, and now maybe it’s two masks. Social distancing became mandatory. Then our government told us we were in danger of overloading the healthcare system, so we just need 15 days to shut everything down to “flatten the curve.” In many places, those shutdowns are going on 15 months and the only thing flattened is the middle class. And wasn’t it odd that all those Army Field Hospitals and Navy Hospital Ships President Trump rushed into service were barely used.

At one point, the rage was we must test everyone, but millions went untested. So no one really knows how many people ever actually were infected. Finally, the only hope was a vaccine. Due to President Trump’s Herculean efforts, we got vaccines in record time and got them to millions, but now the so-called experts are saying you should probably still wear a mask and stay home! Despite plummeting numbers of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, the healthcare bureaucracy and Democrats insist it’s still not safe to go out, much less exercise your freedoms.

Yes, the Chinese Virus is very real and in some people more severe than the flu—and yes, we had a global pandemic—but the real objective here is that this healthcare scare-mongering to control populations will never end. It’s all obvious ideological warfare. Blue states remain largely locked down and suffering, and red states are mostly open and thriving. The pandemic numbers in both show no discernible differences. In fact, when the various pandemic measures imposed are compared to charts of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, there are also no apparent correlations except maybe the receding numbers as more people are vaccinated.

Big blue cities around the nation continue this absurd charade that it’s much too dangerous to reopen schools, while private schools and many red state public schools have been pretty much open all this school year without any major problems. The politicians and press never make that contrast because it belies their contrived narrative that they know what’s best and we must obey their commands.

The American people are not fooled. They see all the inconsistencies and forever changing forecasts and remedies. What we do know is that our healthcare bureaucrats don’t really know what works; they literally just keep throwing whatever against the wall. It’s all trial and error, which is fine, but be honest about it. Don’t preach pandemic gospel when you are making it up as you go along.

The pandemic was a sure enough problem, but our elected leaders panicked. They knew Dr. Fauci was full of it, but they were sorely afraid to be seen as doing nothing. So they latched on to whatever measures were fashionable at the moment. This is somewhat forgivable if you make corrections when new data and experience show otherwise, but blue state governors will not relent. Once they got their jackboots firmly on the necks of working Americans and small business, they just can’t let go.

The proof of pandemic propaganda is the simple fact we cannot debate it. Anything that runs counter to the official doom and gloom pandemic narrative is censored. Any doctors dissenting or questioning Fauci’s dogma are silenced. If they prescribe hydroxychloroquine, they may be investigated by state boards. And anyone who dares post any pandemic skepticism on social media will be promptly censored or cancelled.

This wasn’t the first pandemic and it won’t be the last. We live with viruses; it’s a fact of life. The common cold and flu cannot be cured and will never go away, so neither will the Chinese virus ever be completely eradicated – we learn to live with them. Sure, we can implement lessons learned and move on, but that is not the goal here. Fauci is now musing about other strains and variants and how we must continue his draconian bromides, but he is serving the political class of totalitarian wannabes. They never want the pandemic to end. They have found an intimidating irresistible tool of oppression to cow the common man; they are loathe to lose it.

The people can appreciate prudence in a pandemic, but they chafe at overzealous, unending encroachments on their freedoms. We can weigh the risks ourselves and choose to mask or not. It’s plain to the people all the pandemic hype is more about control than public health, so it’s past time to let the American people just be free again!

“Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly” (Proverbs 16:22).

Pete Riehm is the host of Common Sense Radio heard 8pm every Thursday on FMTalk106.5 or streaming at fmtalk1065.com. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or on Twitter @PeteRiehm or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/riehm