New Jersey has been a state that, while hit hard by the COVID pandemic, has imposed very aggressive restrictions on people in the name of controlling the pandemic. While certain ones are, in the objective sense understandable for public health, have come at a cost of potentially establishing a new philosophical standard that will have long-term consequences for the future that will outlast COVID. In other words, while there are genuine concerns, COVID is being used to justify more repressive measures that could and likely also in the future will be used for very nefarious purposes, that is, if the lessons of history and their patterns are a guide for the future.
In the case of New Jersey, as Newsweek reports, many citizens are angry at Governor Murphy, for after imposing very strict restrictions on the public with heavy consequences, he was caught ignoring the very rules that he imposed.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy showed up in a social media video Sunday night for having dinner with his family. But why the hysteria on Twitter? The Democratic governor and his crew were eating while wearing no protective masks. That didn’t sit well with some apparent Republican bystanders.
Still, why the hoopla for an elected official eating dinner with no masks at a public restaurant? Probably because not long ago, Gov. Murphy suggested families in his state to keep Thanksgiving gatherings at a minimum to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re urging everybody to keep their Thanksgiving plans as small as possible because we know that indoor gatherings and homes are particularly dangerous places for COVID-19 to spread,” Murphy said during a state coronavirus briefing last Monday. “The smaller the gathering is, the less likely it is that someone is infected and puts their loved ones at risk. It is that simple.”
Then, a video surfaced Sunday night of Murphy having dinner with several folks. Behind the video was apparently a woman who said “f***” many times to not just the governor, but to other people in his party who engaged in conversation with the woman.
The video first focuses on the governor while he’s at a large tabletop with his party. A woman’s voice is then heard.
“Hey, how ya doing?” the woman asks the governor. Another voice in the background is heard saying, “you’re such a d***.”
The main woman’s voice is heard again saying, “You’re having fun with your family and in the meantime you’re having all other kind of bulls***going on.” The governor can be seen taking a bite of food as the berating continued. (source)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy having dinner with his maskless family @PedroElFilosof1 @El_Melvin1 @JeancarloNY @filindg @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/jxY87oh02k
— Eris Santiago (@esny10) November 23, 2020
It is true there is a difference between the rulers and the ruled. However, the rulers have a responsibility to the ruled, and if they do not at least attempt to show they are following in some way the rules they impose on others, people naturally lose faith in them and begin to hate them, as it is a philosophical concept, for truth is greater than any one man, and no man is greater than the law. When this happens, it can not just cause a loss in confidence, but also social destabilization that could even be used in the hands of a skilled manipulator to cause him to be thrown out or in serious cases, to cause a revolution.
This trend of frustration leading to revolution to contentment back to frustration is a theme of human history which no nation is exempt from and can be seen in all culture. In an American context, amid incresing government restrictions, a frustrated people with an empire in decline, and serious social difference, the trends are already in place to lead to local pockets of unrest that may generate or be used to generate more serious consequences.
I am not saying that the situation in New Jersey will result in a “revolution” like that seen in many countries. However, the reaction of the public shows that people are angry, and given that economic conditions are not going to improve, as people become poorer and their personal struggles more serious from what they knew before, these factors will magnify their already felt frustrations which they will attempt to place the blame on somebody, and it is not going to be themselves most likely. Instead, they will probably look for another person, such as one in power, to focus on, and in the case of Governor Murphy, he has made himself a target.
Interestingly this same case may happen with Biden. Love or hate him, there are problems that he is going to have to face and which he likely cannot solve, the biggest one being the debt issue. There is a strong chance that given the political circumstances, Biden may end up like Hoover, blamed for something he did not create but being forced to deal with it and as such having long-term political consequences for his party.
This is what seems to be happening. Right now, it is not a good time to be in political office unless on can generally avoid most of the problems and blame them on somebody else, because the masses of the people are angry, and when this happens, it tends never to end well.