A story recently went viral, and for good reason.
It followed the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year old young lady, who was beaten to death for violating Iran’s strict dress code. The Iranian government blocked mobile internet and all social media apps following protests of her murder.
They arrested her for allegedly violating their strict dress code for women — remember, Iran is a theocracy — which requires that women wear a hijab and clothing that fully covers both their arms and legs in public. She was allegedly beaten after her arrest, and later died following a three-day coma. All because she was not wearing the correct garments.
It is first and foremost a horrific tragedy — one, unfortunately, which is not uncommon in Iran. They beat and killed this young woman, and then shut down the internet to stop the subsequent protests. It feels unreal in 2022.
Many in the West are probably thinking that this could never happen in their country. Here in America, with our “home of the brave” and “land of the free” pride, we’re especially convinced something like that could never happen. Even if it did, we’d stop it with our guns, right? Iran feels like an ancient world that’s stuck in its theocratic ways.
But I’m challenging you to look through a different lens. Because, when you think about it, these headlines coming from Iran are too close for comfort. I no longer have the security of knowing this could never happen in America because it has happened here. It is happening here.
Our media would have you forget what took place and what is still taking place, depending on where you live. No — it doesn’t match Iran’s violence, but the tactics employed by our government are the same as those employed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During the COVID era, America essentially became a theocracy. COVID was — among other things — a religion founded and instituted by the federal government. Christen yourself with a vaccine, perform the sacrament of masking, and chastise the sinners.
Don’t forget how they tried to control how many people families invited over at Thanksgiving. Don’t forget how they prevented individuals from visiting dying loved ones in the hospital. Don’t forget how, in many places, they specifically targeted religious gatherings as “super spreader events.” You heard stories of families having police show up at their door because neighbors called 911 on their social gathering. People would get chastised for walking outside without a mask.
I’ll never forget the craziness at Whole Foods. They had these sticker pads all over the floor saying that you needed to walk in a certain direction down the aisles—six feet apart, of course. God forbid, you forgot something in the aisle. There was no turning around. When I was there, I would purposefully walk against the arrows and the moral police quickly blew their whistles. “Hey, you’re not allowed to go in this direction,” they said.
I mentioned that Iran blocked the internet from its citizens. Do you remember the censorship employed during COVID to squash dissenting opinions?
They banned journalists like Alex Berenson for stating true information about the COVID vaccines. They silenced any women who received the Moderna vaccine and had irregular menstruation. They ignored the heart problems and myocarditis among teenagers and young men who took the vaccines. They used fake “fact checkers” to label dissenting information on COVID as “false.”
We know there was no science behind what was done. There’s no science behind what they’re doing. Even though President Biden, two weeks ago declared COVID over, it’s not like the virus is gone. The pandemic is simply “over” because the government decided it was over. The pandemic is “over” because fervor for the religion and its rules has died.
The only question now is what religion they’ll push in the future, and how emboldened they’ll feel after their success with COVID. I think of environmentalism and climate change. Maybe we’ll have people chasing others down for not using the right straws, or for stating an opinion contrary to the established narrative on climate change. All of it is feasible in today’s society.
Iran’s actions are horrific and their abuse of the Iranian people is obviously worse than what occurred here during COVID. Still, we shouldn’t forget what U.S. officials did. It’s only a matter of time before they institute a new religion and demand stricter adherence to its rules.
