Even the Event 201 authoritarians were opposed to lockdowns
They were against lockdowns and masks before they were for them (and will probably later pretend to have always been against them)
This was their third of seven recommendations:
“Countries, international organizations, and global transportation companies should work together to maintain travel and trade during severe pandemics. Travel and trade are essential to the global economy as well as to national and even local economies, and they should be maintained even in the face of a pandemic.”
- from Event 201 in 2019
Yes, they were opposed. And yes, later they will probably pretend to have always been against them.
But in between something happened that changed all that. Something that I've tried to draw attention to since the very beginning of the pandemic insanity. It goes like this:
- In November, 2019, Trump gave an address to the UN declaring that the US would never become socialist.
- In mid-January, 2020 Trump gave an address to the WEF declaring that the US would never become socialist.
- In late-January, 2020 Trump banned travel from China because of a flu outbreak in Wuhan.
- All of the pandemic planning guides, like the ones you cite in your post, from the WHO, CDC, everywhere warned against banning travel for respiratory infectious disease. It doesn't stop transmission (as evidenced by the global experience since), it leads to authoritarianism and the erosion of civil liberties, and it is divisive between nations. Because once nations blame other nations for spreading disease, nation's leaders will blame their people for spreading disease (i.e. blame-shifting, a weak leader's go-to). Resulting in authoritarianism and the erosion of civil liberties. Pre-CV pandemic plans cautioned that travel bans are political acts, not based in enlightened and informed virology, epidemiology. Remember, he was a "xenophobe" for doing it. Xenophobe or not, the criticism that his travel bans were for political reasons was right.
- In the context of Trump's global pronouncements that the US would never be socialist, a verbal glove thrown at the feet of global socialists serving as a challenge to a duel, and the political act of imposing a travel ban, the battle that Trump was instigating was enjoined. And infectious disease, a global pandemic became the political battlefield.
- All of the lockdowns, masks, propaganda, censorship, all of it has been for political advantage in that war. Epidemiology draws upon social sciences and its behavioral science branch (political science is another branch off of social sciences) to modify perspectives and behaviors during a pandemic. Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) are inherently and definitionally psychological manipulations intended to change perspectives and then the behaviors that flow from those changes.
- Behavioral science is the "science of totalitarianism" as described by it's practitioners:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210519003131/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/14/scientists-admit-totalitarian-use-fear-control-behaviour-covid/
- The global authoritarian socialist movements accepted Trump's invitation to a duel when he made the first move in a political, non-medical based ban on travel attempting to control infectious disease. And tossed aside every single lesson and understanding of pandemic influenza protocols. Trump's challenge to global socialism and America's posture scrambled every plan, including the Event 201 plans.
- And in that environment, many large monied interests seized the opportunity to profit from it. War being good for profits and all. Big Pharma, Big Tech, Amazon, Big Media, whether or not they supported Socialism or free markets saw a way to make tons of money. A feeding frenzy ensued that ensured the emergency was escalated and extended.
- When Pres. Trump made that fateful decision to treat infectious disease with political science instead of medical science, unforeseen to him was that public health and policy leaders would treat infectious disease with political science, var. Behavioral science. And the psychological operations war we are still being subjected to exploded. Because authoritarians of all stripes, communists, fascists, marxists, all who have a fondness for socialism, central planning and control decided they would win the future that Trump said he would win.
Sad thing is, for all of his statements that he loves freedom and will lead America back to it, make us great again again, it was his actions that resulted in the most massive losses of freedom the world has ever experienced. And until he realizes he made that consequential mistake, instead of bragging about how many lives he saved by banning travel, he'll probably fall into another trap set for him by the enemies of freedom.
So while I am sympathetic to his pronouncements, share his stated goals, and know that his voice and movement is essential to regaining freedom, I know that he also remains capable of sabotaging all he says he stands for by refusing to be introspective and contemplate the unintended consequences of his decisions. And until another leader presents themselves capable of fighting this battle in his stead, we're stuck with him atop our message of freedom and liberty.
My (much more than) .02