Live Free or Die; Death is Not the Worst of Evils

10/4/2020

By Olivia Pierson
First published on Insight@theBFD 4/04/2020

We have been suddenly stripped of our liberties – and so rapidly everyone appears addled by the speed of the head-spin.

Like penned sheep let out now and then for a little skip around the paddock, we’re all “safely” in lockdown while our government charts a course for our country behind closed doors.

If I lived in America with a President Trump at the helm, I might feel more at ease knowing, in the old-school American tradition, how livelihood friendly and freedom-loving he happens to be. Because of him, that country will survive and make good over time, but that’s not to undermine the economic pain that’s now in the immediate future of Americans, apart from Joe Biden who won’t even notice.

But in New Zealand? Our PM’s only claim to a credential before she became our PM was President of the International Union of Socialist Youth – and she was not outrightly elected by New Zealand citizens in 2017, she got there by a dint of the minority-loving MMP system, along with the power-hungry tactics of a fossilised snollygoster such as Winston Peters.

New Zealand is in deep trouble. Life as we once knew it will never be the same again. Economically, I can’t even begin to see a path before us which doesn’t involve heavy trade deals with the Chinese Communist Party – who gave us this bloody virus in the first place.

I doubt Jacinda will have the brain or the nerve to confront China over their lies which spread the virus – she’ll leave that to President Trump and probably the Australians, but you can bet your last renminbi that she’ll tut-tut them over their latest carbon emissions, which have not been helped by the sudden upswing in crematoriums working around the clock.

Kiwis are already snitching on each other in droves over the ominous medium of an anonymous “hotline.” Citizens are observing each other to see if others are obeying the rules rolled out by government, in true Orwellian fashion. But “be kind,” we are ordered, as if we are all kindergarten children sitting up straight on the mat, awaiting the next instruction from Miss Ardern.

Most of us don’t need admonitions to be kind – we are already kind to the decent folks who deserve it and not so much to the twats who don’t. That’s the normal way of things in the real world of freedom and this is what got us through two World Wars and a Great Depression in one century – that and guts, heart and fortitude.

I can see exactly how this cost-benefit analysis has been made – and it’s taken us all by the metaphorical gonads: Western culture values life so very dearly (apart from babies in utero) that all life matters more than it must. On its own, that sounds like a terrible statement, so I’ll clarify it.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness used to belong together as an indivisible concept; these three attributes of being born free defined life itself in the West. It was our way. In fact, liberty was once considered so incomparably precious that it was something our forefathers would willingly lay their lives down for in order to pass on to the following generations. But not us. Not anymore. We’ve become a nation of witless, woke wimps.

“Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” was the ardent conclusion boomed out by American revolutionary Patrick Henry in his speech to his Virginian delegates at the Second Virginia Convention of March 1775. The bloody revolt against British rule ignited one month later – and many lives were lost for the cause of freedom:

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Henry’s fellow revolutionary, New Hampshire’s General John Stark, could not attend an anniversary of the Battle of Bennington in 1809. Instead, he sent a written toast which included these words:

“Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.”

To this day, those words happen to mark the spirit of liberty which brought America into existence and they still stand as the motto of the state of New Hampshire.

What is life without liberty worth?

Is this soft, fearful way of living with a new virus, that cannot be put back in a bottle, what our fathers, uncles and grandfathers fought in world wars to bequeath to us?

The fact that we have allowed our government to exert the unprecedented power of shutting down our businesses and calling a halt to our daily, weekly, monthly liberties over a Chinese virus, which actually won’t harm 99% of our population, is a terrifying spectacle in its total overreach. And if soon, we knock the virus back to see it recede, allowing our normal lives to start up again, what if the damn thing re-emerges in three months, six months – or next year? Are we going to accept lying down that our lives can be paused whenever the government decides they must be?

This is an utterly untenable option for the free people of a democratic nation.

Instead of this lunacy, I point you to an alternative for emergency measures put forth by the New Conservative Party, written by Leighton Baker, their leader. This thinking shows brave, manly leadership in a time of potential crisis, and is only too rare.

I wager that Baker’s ethereal ancestors are looking down on him right now from the Great Beyond, saying, “That’s my boy!”

There’s only one thing which should be obsessing the New Zealand government right now, apart from the sensible emergency measures that the New Conservatives suggest, and that is the acquisition of Hydroxychloroquine and Z-pac, a drug combination that has had a striking virus cure rate in New York, and well beyond America’s shores.

Instead of robbing us of our natural liberties, PM Ardern should be pulling every string she can grasp at to make sure NZ Pharmac delivers this potential cure to our sick. But will she? I seriously doubt it. She’d much rather torpedo an entire economy.

If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer"

52 Comments

Hilary

9/4/2020 07:09:33 pm

Absolutely brilliant article. Every thought, every emotion I am experiencing at this appalling time you have elegantly and eloquently set forth here.

Tauhei Notts

9/4/2020 09:30:05 pm

Patrick Henry, of Virginia said;
"Give me liberty or give me death".
What he was more worried about was whether the banks would foreclose on the slaves whom he had pledged as security for his bank loans. The lending institutions might give them liberty!!!

Phil O'Riordan

10/4/2020 12:00:50 am

Olivia, thank you again for an excellent comment which i do agree with your vision of what is happening., I have done so before.

Putting aside the ups and downs of the daily results, which in themselves are 'cultured' to the presentations, it's a Political tool being used in a way which is hard to explain to some people. I have tried but the years of abuse of MSM indoctrination make it a formidable task.
For those of us who can see this, and it's supporters in their add on to programmes which follow constantly is beyond description. I have cut myself off now from watching these . Quite unbelievable ........but real,
So therein lies the problem and issues, the infiltration over many many years into MSM, schools, teaching, universites, Polytechs local councils, and of course State Political Parties.

Not insurmountable however it will take a person to uphold those liberties and values we need and that is what Leadership is all about.
Key issue,it's all about Leadership, a leader and vocal and absolutely falls on one, the rest will gather round and see what it's all about. No leadership, then virtually no obstacle to their agenda.
The Leader has to have media exposure and lots of it.....formidable as that's exactly what they fear.

With Regards
Phil

Purple Flower

10/4/2020 10:29:27 am

The Covid-19 virus is highly contagious, much more so than was initially known about it. It was already circulating by stealth in Europe, and from there by stealth in New York, before the world was fully informed its existence and its dangers.

New Zealand was very fortunate that by the time the covid-19 first arrived on its shores much was already known about it and its impact on the countries that got it much earlier. New Zealand did not lead the world and show them how to do it, New Zealand followed what other countries were already doing or had already done.

But the loss of freedom in New Zealand with its four-week lock-down is only a temporary loss of freedom. It is a temporary sacrifice for the greater good of fighting a war and to save us in the long run.

The real and ongoing lack of freedoms in New Zealand are the freedom of thought, the freedom of viewpoint, and the freedom of debate and exchange of ideas. And it is not just the sainted Prime Minister and the other holier-than-thous who dictate to us what we may think, the NZ Herald and Stuff are brainwashing machines promoting the same mandated lines of thought. The lack of these freedoms in New Zealand is like being in a communist country.

10/4/2020 04:46:37 pm

Typo? 'sainted' or 'tainted'?

Even prisoners have access to a library!!
I wonder if they're allowed visitors???????

Mandy

11/4/2020 03:59:29 pm

What a load of dangerous rubbish you are talking.. take a look where the USA is NOW with their death rate, lead by that arrogant fool you call a leader. Sometimes we ALL must do things for the "greater good' (we do it everyday life with our laws and customs - it's called community!...and right now most Kiwi's are right behind our lockdown". Grow up and get real

11/4/2020 04:56:01 pm

Mandy, your reply to my comment bears no relevance to what I had stated. Did you not understand my statement below?

"But the loss of freedom in New Zealand with its four-week lock-down is only a temporary loss of freedom. It is a temporary sacrifice for the greater good of fighting a war and to save us in the long run."

And, where is the connection to anything I said that has to do with the USA and Trump that is dangerous rubbish? Do you really believe that covid-19 arrived in NZ before it arrived in NY, and that NZ implemented its lock-down and other measures before NY did?

11/4/2020 07:02:39 pm

Purple Flower - I wasn't responding to your comments, I was making a comment in response to Olivia Pierson and her article

Olivia

11/4/2020 09:34:07 pm

Mandy,

The United States had, on average, 15,000 visitors per day flying into their various airports from mainland China. Trump slammed the border shut to China on Jan 31st. By then half a million Chinese had flowed into America in the first month of the new year, with many carrying the Wuhan virus.

The death rate in the U.S from this virus was projected to be 120,000 by the end of April because it is said to be so highly contagious and virulent.

As it stands, their death rate has now hit 20,000, with half of those being in New York, a packed, densely populated, massive city.

Many make-shift hospitals all over the country, including the high-tech hospital ship “Comfort” are almost empty - plus their doctors are allowed to prescribe Hydroxychloroquine and Z-Pak, the only possible “cure” known to be in existence. NZers cannot get it.

Sounds like the American response has been incredible and you have not been paying enough attention. Where do you get your news from? Stuff(ed), or the NZ Herald perhaps?

Adam

13/4/2020 06:01:48 pm

Nearly half of deaths in USA are in New York, where the Democratic governor gave encouraging words towards people to get out and celebrate Chinese new year and hence still socialise. Others on the left encouraged people to still be going to bars and called Trump's travel ban from China racist. I am not blaming such leaders for the virus, (this rests more with WHO and the Chinese Communist Party for failing to disclose information more quickly) I am however saying that it is most unfair and in accurate for you to blame Trump for virus developments. Secondly, you need to put virus deaths in perspective. People die from normal coronavirus everyday, more than 150,000 died in USA alone in one flu season in early 1990s yet society was not shut down, and only 12 percent of recorded deaths in Italy were actually from the virus, most had the virus but primarily died from other complications. Numerous studies show that unemployment and social isolation, which is what this lockdown is causing, increase mortality rates in the case of unemployment and shorten life in the case of social isolation. Saw other day scaremongering news clip about London hospitals being overrun yet clip showed rows of empty beds. We don't close our roads because they cause numerous deaths every year. Yes we try to make them safer, but we don't go to extremes creating a cure worse than the disease. It is barbaric that people cannot even say goodbye to their dying loved ones at the moment and what is the point of older people being left lonely and locked away from family, which will have a detrimental effect on their welfare anyway.

Hilda N.

19/4/2020 12:25:54 am

Mandy, you sound like a fool. What are you talking about? Do you even know what the covid-19 death rate is in the USA? Do you even know how it compares to the flu death? You're enthralled and brainwashed by your propagandist media.

19/4/2020 12:21:21 am

Purple Flower, you claim that, "The Covid-19 virus is highly contagious, much more so than was initially known about it." Where's the evidence for your claim? Every single time that claim is made, no evidence is provided.

You also state, "It is a temporary sacrifice for the greater good of fighting a war and to save us in the long run." If you have to be "saved" from a cold virus by the government, not even God, if you believe in him, can help you. The government's job is not to protect you from nature, it's supposed to protect your rights (It's in the USA Constitution).

19/4/2020 08:39:28 am

Hilda N, There is a plethora of evidence that covid-19 is highly contagious. Evidence and examples abound in the media all the time. But in due course the results of widespread antibody and covid-19 testing will provide formal statistical proof by the numbers.

My comment about temporary loss of freedom for the greater good, was not an endorsement of the lock-down in NZ, it was an intellectual musing that this current loss of freedom in NZ was intended only to be temporary - as in such dire circumstances as fighting a common foe - and that it was supported by noble intentions, rather than just suppression of freedom for the sake of authoritarianism.

Yes, the USA government is obligated to protect the people's rights under the Constitution, but it is also obligated to protect their safety and security. That is why the USA has a military and border controls. But as the Governor of NY said the other day, his executive order for the NY stay-at-home isn't worth the paper it is written on. New Yorkers have willingly chosen to abide by the order - of their own free will - because they agree that it is the right thing to do at this moment in time.

I certainly do not think that I have to be "saved" from a cold virus by the government. It is not about me. It is about what is the best way that I can help and save other people.

Teekay

10/4/2020 08:09:53 pm

She has no consideration or respect for her own femininity in regard to using the vulgar name for female genitalia in reference to a person. I didn’t read any further

10/4/2020 08:42:58 pm

Teekay, if you mean the word “twats” my use of it here is to mean “idiots" and rhymes with “bats.”

If I meant female genitalia, I would’ve used the word “twots” which rhymes with “cots.”

colin wheeler

16/4/2020 04:12:37 pm

Hi Teekay. You may not be doing yourself any favors by dismissing a piece of writing because a word is used that you find offensive. You are effectively filtering your uptake of knowledge or opinion based on personal bias in one small area. A point of disagreement does not make everything someone says untrue or not worth listening to. The result is a limited ability to expand your world view.

mandy

11/4/2020 07:10:02 pm

Purple Flower...what does it matter who did what first? The point is NZ did something and we shut down...it's not a competition. If other countries are watching places like NZ, Finland etc and learning it's all good. This disease is NOT like the common flu - it's changeable and dangerous... have a read about the Spanish Flu

12/4/2020 08:07:47 pm

Of course it is not a competition. Each country is facing different challenges, different circumstances, and each country is on a different timeline. But the NZ media, oops the Aotearoa media, and all the Jacindamaniac fans keep touting the myth, ad nauseum, that Jacinda is leading the world in the covid-19 pandemic, that Jacinda is showing the world what to do. But, in actual fact, NZ came to the party last, and Jacinda followed the measures that had already been adopted by other countries. While earlier countries had to find their way in the dark and learn by bitter experience, the path was already paved for Jacinda. She didn't lead the world, she followed.

Orua

13/4/2020 07:01:57 pm

Mandy all viruses mutate quickly...millions of them. That is their make up but it doesn't make this virus any different to any other including beneficial. It's a drum beaten by alarmists.

Terry

11/4/2020 08:48:38 pm

Olivia

Thank you for the article, whether or not we all agree with it, it is great to have the freedom to consider it.

12/4/2020 04:01:50 am

Hey Olivia, let's catch up up for a proper chat... how can I send you my contact details - thanks Mandy

12/4/2020 03:54:49 am

Thanks Olivia for your reply.... are you mad? America now holds the world record ( that no one wants!) for infections and death toll... and will slow down the world recovery ( not that will happen in the near future).

12/4/2020 09:54:26 pm

Mandy, the point that you are missing is that the USA faced a much more devastating and challenging battle. The virus had already crept into the USA (Washington, New York) before anything much was known about it.

The original projections of deaths in the USA were much higher (100K to 240K) but with the measures being taken, the projections are being revised lower and lower. And it is hardly astounding that a country with a much larger population has more cases and more deaths than the smaller countries. Also, the number of cases is a function of the number of tests. The more testing that you do, the more cases you will have.

13/4/2020 09:10:45 am

Mandy, A new report out today (April 13) states: "The coronavirus may have been silently spreading in California as early as last December. The Golden State had some of the first confirmed cases in the US, including some from travelers who came from the epicenter of Wuhan, China, starting in late January. But the deadly contagion was likely expanding way before anyone knew to look out for it, with initial cases dismissed as flu...This wasn’t recognized because we were having a severe flu season,” Smith, a physician, told the L.A. paper."

Trump banned travel from China on January 31, before NZ followed suit. His action in doing so was slammed as being just "hysterically xenophobic," and the WHO was denouncing travel bans.

NZ's first case did not come from China, it came from Iran in late February. But, enough said, this is my last reply on this topic.

13/4/2020 07:07:44 pm

China and the WHO will pay a hefty price for this. Hopefully not exacted onto the Chinese population but on their criminal CCP

15/4/2020 11:59:15 pm

Do the words per capita mean anything to you? Are you really this thick?

12/4/2020 04:08:58 am

Olivia - are you a Trump supporter? If so, I have NOTHING to say to to you

Katie

13/4/2020 04:15:17 pm

Mandy, that sort of response just shows YOUR closed mindedness. Exchange ideas, talk about the merits of the ideas or opinions/or lack there-of. But blanket statements like that are unprofitable.

13/4/2020 10:21:48 pm

Mandy, All of the articles about Trump and the USA that are published in the NZ media - The NZ Herald and Stuff - are unmitigated rubbish, total distortions of the reality, and often outright lies. The NZ media will not publish anything that is favourable, fair, or unbiased about Trump. Their only sources are: The Washington Post, The New York Times, news.com.au and sometimes the AP (which merely regurgitates the others).

Instead of blindly believing these hateful articles, just pause and think. Consider the wording of these articles. Ponder how could they even be plausible. Is it believable that if the President of the USA was the way Trump is described in these articles, he would still be in office today? Would the American people, who have accomplished so many achievements, allow someone like that to remain the President for all this time?

16/4/2020 04:24:17 pm

Well spoken Katie. It's ironical that those who trash the likes of Trump will close their minds to anything good that he does. I would be the first person to agree that he has some significant "issues" but the fact is he sometimes does some really good stuff that other leaders are too politically correct to do. Jacinda has some excellent communication skills. It doesn't however make her statements correct or well founded in all cases.

Nikki

14/4/2020 11:09:14 pm

Mandy, theres probably no point in saying anything, theres none so blind as those who don't want to see

Lushington link

13/4/2020 06:11:54 pm

As good lefties Midnight Oil once said, "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees".

Anomaly

13/4/2020 09:49:13 pm

Here is a well documented website filled with expert research by doctors. Please read.

https://swprs.org/a-swiss-doctor-on-covid-19/

Niiki

14/4/2020 11:07:30 pm

Well said

Colin

14/4/2020 02:51:44 am

Thank you Olivia for such a well reasoned article.
The wholesale shut down will, I believe, very soon be seen to be the complete overkill it was. It has less to do with "safety" than control. And the majority has meekly obeyed. I agree that the borders should be shut temporarily, (it should have been done sooner,) but thousands of businesses could have kept trading with almost zero increase in risk of ballooning infections. Then, within the last few days, with the evidence of infection/death rates, we now know this is a serious illness but only marginally more so than the annual "flu. We haven't got a vaccine yet, (and as you note, our government could not possibly follow the US in use of Hydroxychloroquine,) so the aged (including me!!) might want to be careful. (aside: I wonder if Hydroxychloroquine would be OK if Obama was still potus!!)
Meanwhile more days/weeks of shut down are prescribed as the muscles of power are flexed and Jacinda's vision of standing on stage at the UN accepting the plaudits of how she "eliminated" the virus become the only rational explanation of the continued destruction of the economy. I suspect that there is a feeling in the Beehive that this virus has been a blessing in disguise in that the general population has been proven ready for "big brother" takeover and coming out of the economic mess we will see fewer small businesses and greater state control of all business. 1984.

14/4/2020 03:10:37 am

I find the “meekness” particularly disturbing - more than any other factor. It shows that as a country we have lost our love of freedom. It’s done.

16/4/2020 04:39:11 pm

Olivia I find your commentary very refreshing. Keep up the good work! Is it just me or is our govt. stance on the long term pure naivety? To eliminate this virus would mean a total border lock down for as long as it takes for every other country in the world to be free of the virus. They are hanging their hats on a vaccine which hasn't been made yet & may never happen let alone be effective. Smart governance to lead the world by. I think not. Watch for the very quiet change in direction.

Nikki Thornton

14/4/2020 11:06:51 pm

Only marginally worse than 'flu!! Omg you are delusional. Also there is no scientific proof that hydroxycloraquine has any effect on Covid 19, its very good for Malaria but Dr Trump thinks he knows better and obviously so do you. Cognitive impairment appears to be a comman denominator amongst you all

15/4/2020 03:44:19 am

I hate to be the one to break it to you but it’s not President Trump who prescribes Hydroxychloroquine to some patients with Covid, it’s doctors who see its value - and it started in France - the cure rate is striking. But yes, of course, doctors shouldn’t use it because Trump mentioned its name.

Also, the Italians have been using a rheumatoid arthritis drug called Tolicizumab, which they claim to be even more effective than Hydroxychloroquine on Covid, but this shouldn't trigger your Trump Derangement Syndrome because he hasn’t mentioned it in a press briefing...yet.

Since there is no official cure and also no vaccine, would you prefer that doctors ignore clinical remedies of well-known, well-used drugs which show promise?

15/4/2020 05:44:29 am

Trump merely stated that hydroxychloroquine could be a game-changer, because it has shown promise in France. The operative word is "could." He didn't say it would work, he said words to the effect of "it may work, it may not work, we don't know, but it is a very old drug that has been already extensively tested on humans to be safe, so I am optimistic about it." He also made it quite clear that it should only be taken under the guidance of the doctor at the doctor's discretion depending upon the patient's conditions.
But very sadly, because it was Trump who mentioned that hydroxychloroquine might be an answer to saving lives, there are those who would rather see thousands of Americans die than have Trump shown to be right.

mark hampson

7/12/2020 03:01:08 am

i cheat- now december & i have the advantage of hindsight. bet you wish you did & kept yr powder dry. but plenty folk even back then knew there was massive deliberate exaggeration & scaremongering. agenda obvious enough to you now? you should have researched the effect of 18/19 flu on isolated communities that sought to 'hide,' if you didnt know. oh, & in '05 fauci ran to the WHO ecstatic with the CDC discovery of hcq's efficacy on corona v. trump knew that.
long shot, but possible that the pres of the most 'advanced' nation on earth bit better informed than thou? haha

Jo Rolston link

14/4/2020 07:43:46 pm

Good article, you've said what I'm feeling. I wonder if liberty is going to be a permanent casualty of this so-called pandemic. I'd feel more confident about getting through this if we had a leader like Leighton Baker.

Nikki thornton

14/4/2020 10:59:37 pm

So called pandemic!!!!! I guess you think its a hoax too like your moronic friend trump

15/4/2020 06:28:14 am

Nikki Thornton, Trump never said that the covid-19 or the pandemic was a hoax. Even the notorious Washington Post has had to retract that falsehood. But despite the retraction, the falsehood still circulates and percolates in the NZ media. So, as I said before, pause and think before blindly believing unmitigated rubbish.

Trump closed the border to travel from China in January. He closed the border to Europe and the UK in early March, and later introduced border restrictions for the northern and southern borders. Then, after all that, he calls the covid-19 crisis a hoax? Really?

And, FYI, Americans do not vote for morons to become President.(yet).

14/4/2020 07:57:16 pm

I love the choice of photograph for this article. As I often say, there are altogether too many sheep in New Zealand.

14/4/2020 10:57:53 pm

What a complete pile of drivel, don't get me wrong your totally entitled to your opinion, moronic though it is, but the trouble is ignorance breeds ignorance and between people like you and d trump your spreading misinformation and lies faster than covid 19

15/4/2020 03:52:27 am

It’s always amusing watching people write about the moronic ignorance of others when they themselves clearly don’t know the difference between using “you’re" and “your" in a sentence. :-)

15/4/2020 02:46:42 pm

Agree Olivia. When a person is blind because they do not want to see, it is likely that they had no enthusiasm for education and have read very little. Unfortunately they so easily fit into the flock that will take us down the road to totalitarianism.

15/4/2020 06:34:37 am

Nikki Thornton, Please elucidate, exactly what lies and misinformation are people like Olivia and Donald Trump spreading? Just give a couple of examples so we can try to understand where you are coming from.

15/4/2020 08:04:54 pm

Purple Flower: I just love that you used me and Orange the Magnificent in the same sentence! Cheers! ;-)

15/4/2020 04:04:59 pm

Sadly there are those among us who are incapable of independent, critical thinking. They are taught by the corrupt msm how to think and what to think and they eagerly regurgitate that narrative without question. They are the most damaging to society - far more so than an overblown virus.

18/4/2020 08:48:16 am

Nobody had any way of knowing in advance what the best way to deal with this pandemic would have been. It is a completely new and untested experience. We still don't know the right strategy. We won't know enough about it until all this is over and the world has tamed covid-19.

But what is unsettling and scary about NZ's heavy-handed approach, is that there are no voices in opposition to whatever Jacinda dictates. It was the same with the way she handled the March 15 crisis. Practically everybody in the country meekly falls behind her measures without question.

In the face of all the unknowns about the covid-19 pandemic, it is a tightrope to balance the optimum mix of saving lives and tanking the economy. There are alternative viewpoints out there. But nobody in NZ speaks up in opposition. There is no real debate.

Live Free or Die; Death is Not the Worst of Evils

Leave a Reply.

Post Archives

Links to Other Blogs