This is in the form of a letter-to-the-editor from prolific contributor Marlow. I made a stab at looking at things that have some sort of enduring change in a great country. It is difficult to address for some of the reasons that have risen from The Change, and they are quite startling. I read an interesting account of how things have changed in our Constitutional Republic these days. Part of it is government by Executive Order (EO), of which there are a couple dozen new ones.

Some are profound. According to the new White House, this is a Climate Crisis day. There are a couple EOs that go along with it.

There are many others, some of which are profound. Nothing new- it used to be long hair or wearing excessive bell-bottomed trousers that stated how you felt. Now it is donning a mask to publicly declare a commitment to Life, and the wisdom of government. I am fine with that, except failing to endorse it makes one a domestic terrorist of some sort.

Given the vitriol associated with everything, this is the place I have to insert the footnotes that claim a certain commitment to all sorts of things. To be clear, Refuge Farm generally follows CDC guidelines about the plague, which has also suddenly changed with an inauguration. I would hate to be castigated as a bigot, since I support people who wish to live lifestyles they choose freely and without penalty by law. But even saying that in the footnote would invite criticism because of the Transgender Civil Rights issue. That is the peril these days, and something that should invite rational discussion.

It seems reasonable to me that the sudden abridgment of the rights of half our citizens to a certain privacy in public rest and locker rooms is a matter worthy of public discussion. Not now- it is done with a pen from a single desk. That incidentally includes our uniformed services- apparently all of them.

Quite a breathtaking change that empowers one segment of society against another, a much larger one.

But that is just part of it. Marlow sums up that sort of dramatic upheaval in another social phenomenon. He puts it this way:

My brother and I had scarlet fever, a serious childhood bacterial illness with our fevers in the 103-4 region, in 1957. By local health dept decrees of longstanding, our doctor put a quarantine sign with big block letters on our front door for all to see when they walked or drove by our house on East North Broadway. We were locked in our bedroom for 2 plus weeks. No one other than family was allowed inside the house. Meals, mostly sandwiches, were delivered and bathroom breaks were allowed only when the 2nd floor was cleared of family members other than our mother.

All other healthy people could go about their business.

This the first time in my memory, that government closed down our way of life to the healthy people’s activities. How’d that work out so far?

To me that’s the change that’s jaw dropping.

Oh, yeah, one other change — I bought some beard trimming shears to keep my Unabomber/Dorsey look away from scaring our neighbors.

Oops. one other change — liquor stores are essential.

What a bunch of pussies we’ve become.”

That is Marlow’s take. Pro or con, it seems worthy of discussion, debate, and maybe a proxy vote cast by someone we elected to represent us. That is another of those darned changes, isn’t it?

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