What Boris Johnson's behavior during Covid19 lockdowns says about the powerful

It was late March 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared a nationwide lockdown across England to control the spread of Covid19.

The rules were as follows

• ·   All “non-essential” high street businesses were closed
• ·      People were ordered to stay at home, permitted to leave for essential purposes only, such as buying food or for medical reasons.

Months later, on 10^th May 2020, Johnson announced some ease on restrictions. He still urged people to obey the rules on social distancing. New rules were enforced that increased the fines for those who violated lockdown laws. 

Government guidelines stated that citizens could meet only one person beyond their household in an outdoor setting while exercising.

The rules were so specific and severe that you would be forgiven for thinking these were laws from the Constitution of North Korea.

Most people complied with these rules for ‘the greater good’. They had no choice, any rebellion would mean fines and even arrest. 

For the first time ever the citizens of the UK had the unique experience of life in a police regime where the domineering state can decide your limit of movement and even the number of persons you can meet when you step out. The state also decided if your business is ‘essential’ and hence decides if you are worthy of earning a living.

The least the citizens expected is that their government followed the laws they had enforced upon them.

Well, no such luck.

A photo was taken on May 15^th, 2020, leaked to the press late last year, showing PM Johnson and his staff with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard relaxing in the Downing Street garden. Nobody was wearing their mask or following the rules of social distancing. Identical behavior by citizens beyond the realms of the PM’s residence would have caused fines and arrest.

When asked about it, PM Johnson said, “those people were at work talking about work”.

A recently leaked email showed PM Johnson’s principal private secretary, asking colleagues to “bring your own booze” to the event in May 2020.

The email, sent to more than 100 employees in the Prime Minister’s office inviting them to an event in Downing Street on 20 May 2020 and urging them to “make the most of the lovely weather”.

The email appears to provide iron-clad proof of a lockdown party in Number 10 during the first national lockdown when the rest of the country was outlawed from meeting more than one other person outdoors.

It has to be remembered that this party occurred at a time when people were not permitted to visit ailing or dying relatives or friends. Even funeral attendances were restricted. The isolation caused bouts of loneliness and depression.

There have also been stories of supreme sacrifices made by health workers and other government services to serve the public.

When caught, instead of immediately confessing and apologizing, PM Johnson said he was waiting for the findings of an official investigation into the matter.

Yes, you read it right, in the matter of merely attending a party an investigation was launched. The leader of the country hid behind an investigation instead of being upfront with his voters about attending a party.

Then yesterday, after realizing that he had no choice because he would be caught anyway, Boris Johnson issue an ‘apology’. Johnson said he "attended" the party, implying he did not host it. He repeatedly said he believed it to be a work event.

There are a few big open questions.

Were there any more such parties at 10 Downing street during the lockdown?

What about citizens who have already been fined or have faced arrested for violating the rules of lockdown? How will they be compensated?

Most importantly, why would the people at 10 Downing street risk their own lives and attend a party if the virus was so dangerous that it was worth locking down the country to restrict its spread?

All of this breeds unending skepticism about the real motives of the government.

When the same government compels its citizens to get vaccinated, the citizens are understandably rather skeptical. 

Why should they trust people who do not follow their own laws and blatantly lie on top of that?

The fact remains that Covid19 has exposed the ways of big government the world over.

Covid19 provided a legitimate excuse for governments to do exactly what they always intended to for all these years i.e. encroach upon basic civil liberties of citizens, to dominate and suffocate the citizen, and finally to have a permanent underclass that is always dependent on government. 

The lockdowns caused many small businesses including shops to shut down permanently because they couldn’t sustain long-term losses. But online delivery services were still operating, Amazon profits skyrocketed by 200% during the lockdowns.

There is nothing wrong with Amazon doing well, but it is unfair when local shops are mandated to shut down but Amazon and other e-commerce players are allowed to operate causing them to have an unfair monopoly.

Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna made combined profits of $65,000 every minute from their highly successful Covid-19 vaccines since they were launched.

It is beyond the realm of possibility that these businesses donate to political parties to ensure that the fear of the virus is kept alive for as long as possible.

Regular citizens cannot be blamed for wondering if Covid19 is as serious as the government claims it is and eventually rebelling against it all.