You may have heard of Charles Mackey (1814-1889), a Scottish poet, journalist, and author who was best known for his book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Mackey’s book, which was published in 1841, was critical of public manias, such as economic bubbles, fortune-telling, haunted houses, and other manias that were occurring at the time that he wrote his book.

While Mackey laid the blame for public manias on the people, in today’s high-tech, internet-based world, the blame for public manias can be placed squarely on the news media, who want to impose their agendas on others, while they demand that what they say must be believed without question or criticism.

What we have been witnessing the past two months with the COVID-19 pandemic has been a public mania that was created by the news media. Here are some of the most recent headlines from the national news media websites:

◆    U.S. Leading Indicator Points to Deep Economic Slump

◆    The Economy Is Collapsing. So Are Trump’s Reelection Chances.

◆    Record Bankruptcies Predicted in Next Year as Unemployment Soars

◆    Seven Financial Heavyweights Have Unveiled Forecasts for a Sudden U.S. Recession

◆    Federal Court to Rule on Kansas Limit on Church Services

Only the last headline that refers to the Kansas limit on church services and the article that the headline referred to was based on a factual occurrence. The other four headlines and stories were based on opinion and speculation.

If you go back and look at the headlines and stories that led to the shutdown of our economy, you will see that they were primarily based on opinion and speculation, not actual facts.

We were told by the media and the so-called experts that there was a deadly virus that was quickly spreading throughout our country that was going to kill millions of people. We were also told that the only way to avoid dying from the virus was to shut everything down, including our schools, churches, and businesses. Then we were ordered to stay in our homes and wait for further orders.

It was as though we were placed under house arrest.

Take another look at the headlines that I set forth above. Notice that the media is no longer talking about how the COVID-19 virus is going to kill millions of Americans. They have now shifted their narrative to how our economy is collapsing and everyone is going to go broke. What is the purpose of this new narrative? To continue the public mania by ramping up additional fear and panic among Americans.

Why were we willing to submit to the orders of our elected officials? The only reason we were willing to submit was because of the mass hysteria that was created by the unprecedented wave of fear that was orchestrated by the diabolical media and the politicians who viewed the so-called pandemic as an opportunity for them to expand their power and control over our lives.

After promoting the narrative that we were all going to die if we didn’t do what they said, the politicians then promised us that money would appear in our bank accounts and that we would be taken care of as long as we complied with their orders.

What did we get in exchange for our compliance?

We got the largest weekly loss of jobs ever recorded in the United States, which caused several state unemployment benefits websites to crash because of the massive volume of requests that were being made for unemployment benefits.

Our economy is now in a free fall and there are millions of small business owners who are saying that if they cannot reopen their businesses to the public within the next 30 days, they will lose everything they have ever worked for.

But last week, there was a dramatic change in the attitude of many Americans who had been relegated to solitary confinement in their homes. After they read or heard reports that the number of deaths from the COVID-19 virus were not going to be in the millions, but were instead going to be in line with the number of deaths that are related to the flu, they came to the realization that they had been duped.

Here’s what the USA Today website reported on Thursday, April 16, 2020:

In Frankfort, Kentucky, a small-business owner wielded a microphone to accuse Gov. Andy Beshear of stifling free enterprise by shuttering businesses and ordering people to stay home.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, a protester was arrested while a crowd urged Gov. Roy Cooper to ease his restrictions.

In Oklahoma City, motorists circled the capitol decorated with signs imploring Gov. Kevin Stitt to put the state back to work.

“We’re hoping to inspire other folks,” said Lori Gracey, a business consultant who organized the Oklahoma protest with a few friends in Broken Arrow.

Rallies organized through social media such as Facebook and Twitter cropped up this week across the country with a common message to governors: relax the strict stay-at-home orders deployed to combat the novel coronavirus. Thousands of motorists gridlocked Lansing, Mich., on Wednesday [April 15] in perhaps the largest protest so far.

Americans are now beginning to conclude that the media and local, state, and federal governments lied to them and can no longer protect them and their families from harm. They realize that they must now focus on protecting themselves. Proof of this sentiment was on display in March, when the FBI processed 3.7 million gun background checks, which was an all-time record.

Americans are also finally beginning to realize that they are solely responsible for their own financial security. While many of them grew up with the illusion that companies, unions, and/or their government would always provide security for them and their families, that illusion has been shattered. They now know that in post-pandemic America, they are going to have to fend for themselves.

Next week, I’m going to give you some suggestions on what you should be doing to fend for yourself and your family.

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