Ronald Reagan astutely quipped that “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”  Be not afraid, Governor Polis reassures us as we enter our personal information into the COVID-19 tracker system hosted by the Colorado government.  But at least the information is given voluntary unlike some governors (e.g., Washington State) who want to enforce a tracking system for all coronavirus cases.  That may sound like a helpful idea in the faculty lounge at some lofty university.  It’s all in the name of “public health” and for our own good because, as we all can agree, the government is always looking out for us.  Insert sarcastic smirk.  But what are the longer term outcomes if government officials enforce rules for the “new normal”?  Let’s explore the scary possibilities.

Will they require all people to download the Healthlynked COVID-19 tracker app?  It’s free by the way.  Wherever you go and whomever you come in contact with will be tracked and recorded.  It is not a stretch to think the government could require that data be reported to the appropriate authorities should you come in contact with anyone exposed to the virus.  Your personal data will be stored on Hillary Clinton’s server, so you can sleep easy knowing your privacy will be protected.   But that won’t be enough.  If having a vaccine and a national health identification system becomes mandatory and traceable, like Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci have suggested, it might be a necessary digital document to travel, enter stores, public buildings and etc.  Technology companies and the government will be able to tell who has been immunized and who hasn’t.  But this nifty software will eventually be expanded to do more than just trace virus exposure.  They’ll know if you have been complying with government orders.  Incremental consent translates to an incremental loss of liberty.  In other words, it will know if you’ve been naughty or nice.  Should you dare visit a “rogue” restaurant, hair salon or gym that is defying orders, it will all be recorded.  You might even be arrested for this violation; don’t worry, there will be plenty of room in the jail since they are letting real criminals out. 

Our trustworthy officials know what is truly essential and they care and simply want to protect you.  Public health is paramount and to think there could be an alternate agenda would be cynical.  Turning your phone off won’t stop the tracking since there will be plenty of drones to bark out orders like, “Maintain your social distance!” or “Put that mask back on!”  Why quarantine only sick people, when you can quarantine the healthy and control the population?  And don’t even think about attending a church service with more than the allowed number of people.  That’s the worst offense of all. 

It could go one step further.   For our convenience and our own good of course, the government can calculate your personal “scorecard” like China does.  Your score will improve for adhering to official quarantine advice.   You’ll have a social score, kind of like a credit score, but measuring how well you have behaved in society, based upon your actions, words and thoughts.  All conveniently compiled by your friendly neighborhood government official.  Social media activities will be tracked too, but if you step out of line, look out!  Big tech doesn’t need to be a neutral platform, they are filtering content for our own good.  Facebook just announced its new artificial intelligence program that will detect hate speech with a “deeper semantic understanding of language, so our systems detect more subtle and complex meanings”, all overseen by the newly announced international oversight board.  Disagree with the government or express any politically incorrect thoughts will result in points deducted.   I could be in big trouble.  Maybe it will go further and the authorities will be notified of everyone you’ve had contact with, especially if one of your “friends” posted something that is deemed “misleading” by our technology masters.   Visit a gun store?  Don’t have a “diverse” enough set of friends?  Watch out, more points will be deducted.  Don’t worry, you can make up points by snitching on other people and donating to Planned Parenthood.

What’s next?  Maybe they’ll inform employers know who has a low scorecard so they can avoid hiring anyone who might be “dangerous”.  And of course, they can send your stats over to dating websites, so all your potential mates can know if you’ve ever engaged in “toxic masculinity”.  Big Brother is smiling. 

Want to chat ?    jadigirolamo@yahoo.com