Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 475 | The Police State Down Under

Episode Date: August 23, 2021

Today we're mainly talking about the rising police state in Australia. With a whopping and tragic 4 average deaths from COVID-19 over the past 7 days, the land Down Under has launched into some of the most restrictive lockdown measures anywhere. We'll talk about why this is neither scientific nor compassionate, and fortunately there are still people in Australia who agree, as anti-lockdown protests have been occurring across the nation. This is a strong reminder, however, of how important it is for individuals to speak up about their values. Here in the U.S., many schools are trying to mandate masks for children, even though there are no known benefits to this and several known downsides. But when regular people in these school districts raise a respectful ruckus, this can change. --- Today's Sponsors: Patriot Mobile has the courage to stand up for America, for Christian values, & our Constitution, plus they have special discounts for veterans and First Responders. Go to PatriotMobile.com/ALLIE to get your free activation with the offer code 'ALLIE'. Good Ranchers safely delivers American craft beef and better than organic chicken, right to your door! Go to GoodRanchers.com/ALLIE to place a one-time order OR subscribe today & save 20% on each box of mouth-watering meats. Use promo code 'ALLIE' at checkout to get an additional $20 off & free express shipping! --- Past Episodes Mentioned: Ep 465: Vaccine Passports Turn NYC to Clown Town https://apple.co/3sT0QBX Ep 373: Uncovering Andrew Cuomo's COVID Corruption | Guest: Janice Dean https://apple.co/3j6zPaK --- Show Links: New York Intelligencer: "The Science of Masking Kids at School Remains Uncertain" (Aug 20, 2021) https://nym.ag/3sHQep2 AllieBethStuckey.com: "Why Kids (And You) Shouldn't Be Forced to Mask" https://bit.ly/3mqxKZb --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. So we've actually got some good news that we're going to talk about today.

I know there's a lot of bad going on in the world. And we're actually going to talk about some of that too. But I'm going to talk about, I guess, the silver lining in some of that bad news. and then just some good news stories. The first good news story that I just want to touch on, we're not going to get into too much, is that today is the last day that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is in office. We talked about all of this.

A couple weeks ago, we've also had Janice Dean on this podcast, who has been going hard after Andrew Cuomo, really for the past year. And the reason why she was going after him was not actually the reason, reason why he ended up resigning. She was going after him for what I think is the most scandalous part of all of this, of his entire entire time in leadership. And that was for shoving a bunch of COVID-positive elderly nursing home patients back into the nursing home knowingly. And there are different reasons for that. We talked about the corruption that led to that kind of decision, the financial motivation

that led to that kind of decision back, I think it was in April 2020, we were talking about it. And that's not even the reason why he left office, which is really sad. I mean, the guy literally has blood on his hands, but his hands got him in trouble in another way because he was touchy-feely with some women and was accused of sexual harassment. That is why he ended up stepping down. Now, is his replacement going to be any better? probably not. Probably not. So that is not necessarily going to be long-term good news for New York. But, I mean, this guy was hoisted up as a hero and the foil to Donald Trump. While Donald Trump was in office and his rise and fall has just been one of the most stunning things that we have ever seen. I mean,

the guy got an Emmy Award for his leadership. I didn't even know that was possible. And also, he got like a five-minute million dollar book deal talking about leadership, even as he was killing elderly people because of his policies. That also happened, by the way, in Pennsylvania and Michigan, this is not just a one-off New York thing, that decision to really not care about the elderly, even while calling people who questioned the use of masks, grandma killers. But that's a whole other thing for another day. So today is his last day in office. Maybe we'll talk more about that. tomorrow it's really honestly pretty shocking that it even happened but today we are going to talk about what's going on in Australia what we can learn from what's going on in Australia this is not

something we typically talk about or a country that we typically talk about we're typically very focused on what's going on here which is a good thing but I think that there are some things to learn from what we see in Australia we're going to look at some of the continued hypocrisy that we see here from our nation's beloved elites, what it's going to look like if and when people finally wake up from their stupor and realize that even though COVID is very real and it can be a very real threat to some people, the fact of the matter is is that many of these public health orders are not based on science. They're certainly not based on compassion and a desire for your well-being. First, let me, I'm going to kind of set this up because I've been noticing how people have been talking, not just about what's going on there, but just what's going on in our political moment in general.

And I kind of want to just lay a foundation and give a little bit of clarity and remind all of us, I guess, what my priorities are and what my focus is on this. podcast and why I talk about the things that I do. Because every day I struggle with whether I should be talking about politics in the news or not. Every day I struggle with how much I should care about what's going on in politics, the news, culture wars. I go back and forth between, okay, this is affecting real people. It has real consequences. The people in my audience need to know about it, do something about it. And this is just going to be. And then, the other side of that, I think, okay, well, this is just going to be divisive. This is just going to make people mad. Maybe this is just a distraction. I shouldn't talk about this because it takes away

from the bigger truths that we should be focusing on about God and who he is and how we can obey him in our daily life. So that's a struggle that I have every day when I'm thinking about what to post about and what to talk about because I don't want to distract from the bigger things. And I really want to give you guys a balance. I mean, at least once a week, we have an episode that's dedicated not to the news. And we will again, this week, we're going to talk to a therapist and mental health counselor about how people are struggling. And I'm going to ask her some of the questions that you guys have about all that. And I hope that it's just a refresher, a breath of fresh air for you guys.

And every episode, every day that we have an episode, I try to draw us back to Scripture, back to the gospel, remind us of the God who is in control, remind myself and you that Jesus' victory assured that one day evil will be. no more and that our job is to trust and obey until then. But I also feel so strongly that we can't be asleep at the wheel right now. When it comes to the changes, our country is experiencing and our role in them. So a lot of you guys ask me, like, how do I balance that? How do I make sure that we're not so inundated with the news? And we don't become obsessed with what's going on in the world and that we don't put our trust in people and in politicians rather than in God. And just to

be transparent with you, I think about that and wrestle with that every day. I mean, that's part of the reason why this podcast is called relatable, because I am figuring this stuff out, even as you guys are figuring this out. And you're coming along on that journey with me. And the days that I feel like, okay, should I talk about this controversial topic? Should I get into this particular culture war? Or should I just forget all about it? reason why I do, the reason why I have the conversations that I have, the reason why I do dive into these tough subjects is because, one, you guys have questions about them. Like, we can pretend like the things in the world aren't going on, but people are wondering what to think about,

for example, transgenderism. People are wondering what to think about refugee resettlement. People are wondering what to think about abortion and all of these things. And if you're not getting your information and your answers from your pastor or from a mentor, Or for me, like, you're going to go to TikTok and you're going to get the random 17-year-old who thinks that they're an expert on geopolitics to tell you their opinion that's going to shape your worldview. So I find that worldview shaping and talking about these different issues really does matter. And that's why I talk about the things that I do, even if people accuse that of being divisive.

As we always say on this podcast, politics matter because policies matter, because people matter. politics affects policy policy affects people and people matter also we have been placed in america at this time not arbitrarily so you've been placed in your town your neighborhood your school district with your kids purposely by the god who does nothing accidentally or haphazardly and i believe just as israelites were called in jeremiah 29 to seek the welfare of the city in which they were exiled we as christians who are exiles on this earth whose true citizenship is in heaven are called the seek the welfare of the city of the city and country in which God has placed us. And in the United States, like, we get to do that democratically.

We get to do that via free speech, speaking up about the things that matter in legally, lawfully pushing back against policies and politicians that we don't agree with. Yes, we are called to love our communities directly, but I also love my community by caring about issues that I know we're going to affect them. And it seems like people who profess to be more progressive social justice Christians understand this more than those who consider themselves conservative Christians. And how do I know that? Because people who consider themselves, I see it. People who consider themselves on the center left and Christians speak up a lot more about political issues that they care about than people on the center right do.

Now, I think people who identify as, you know, leftist Christians make politics their idol. they elevate progressive activism above Christian sanctification, but they do recognize at least that public policy has an effect on the public. And therefore, we should care about it and we should seek to influence it. Whereas I see Christians who consider themselves, theologically conservative, consider themselves maybe center right politically, they actually seem much quicker to speak up about more leftist social and political issues than conservative ones. For example, I had plenty of friends who consider themselves conservative Christians post a black square after the George Floyd thing without really knowing anything that's going on in regards to that, who might have never

seen publicly talk about abortion, who I know they consider themselves pro-life too. And I believe that they are. They had no problem talking about so-called anti-racism last summer. But talking about, you know, for example, the humanitarian disaster at the border directly caused by Biden's border policy right now, they would probably consider. they're too divisive. And maybe even to be a little bit more charitable, I don't even think they know what's happening there at the border right now. Most young Christian women, even those who are not liberal when it comes to speaking up about social and political issues online, simply wait for the

next trend or trending story to tell them what to be upset about and what to post about. And that is, that's why this podcast exists because I don't want us to have that existence. Like I, and, and, I don't know, maybe it's the same thing. Like maybe this podcast is you just waiting for me to tell you what to care about. And that's not necessarily what I want either. But I do hope to give you a broader spectrum, a bigger picture of all the different types of things that are going on than the one viral story that we are going to see trending on social media that we happen to latch on to just because the outrage mob is going to come get us if we don't care about it. So that is part of why. podcast exists to tell you about a bunch of different things that are going on that affects you,

not just the thing that happens to be trendy in that moment and that, you know, people on the left are telling you that you absolutely have to care about in order to be a good person. Now, look, it's not everyone's calling to be thinking about and talking about the news all the time. I totally get that. I'm glad that's not everyone's calling. You have to be focused on what's right in front of you and do the... the work that God has called you to do in your home, in your church, in your community, and you cannot be burdened by everything all at once, is we talked about a lot last week. But at the same time, we can't bury our head in the sand and decide we no longer care enough

to speak up publicly about issues just because they're not trending on social media. So all this to say, that is why I try to talk about. the things that I do while also bringing us back to an eternal perspective when I can. I am an unabashed conservative. You guys know that. I am here to give you a conservative and to the best of my ability by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, a biblical analysis of what's going on. Now that does not mean I don't get it wrong.

That does it mean that I don't make mistakes or that I am the arbiter of all things true? think the Lord, I don't and cannot bear that burden. I am trying to get women like me and like you to care about things that have a real effect on our world while reminding us of who is ultimately in charge. I want us to be involved in our communities, our state, our country, without making politics an idol. I want us to raise a respectful ruckus, as we say, about the things that matter without ceasing to love those with whom we disagree. I want us to care about what's going on without being cynical. I want us to have knowledge about big issues without feeling the anxiety of thinking we have to control it all and fix it all. We have a very limited capacity to care and to do. We are called

to influence by the power of Christ the little and big spheres we occupy with truth and with love. So you don't have to care equally about every subject that's talked about in this show. My hope is to make you aware of all the big things going on and that you will find that one or those two or three things that you really care about and run with them and that everything else that we talk about will simply, you know, enlighten you about things that you didn't know we're going on, will help shape your worldview, will equip you to have informed conversations with people in your life, and will help you when it comes time to vote. And most of all, my goal is to remind you that the God who made us and made the universe is in complete control. And while we have a role in this,

ultimately God has totally and completely got it. Nothing throws him up. off. So while we have that faith and our hope is ultimately in heaven, God created us to occupy this time, this space on earth. That means we have a purpose here. We have a say here, especially in the United States, thank God for the First Amendment. And that is to, and our bigger purpose is to glorify God in all that we say and do. In one way to glorify God is to love our neighbor. In one way to love my neighbor, in my opinion, is to care about my neighbors' freedom. And that brings us finally, finally, I know it seems like I kind of went off rails for a second, but I'm bringing us back here. It brings us to what is happening in Australia, which does have an impact, at least on how we think about things that are happening in the

United States. So I will explain all of everything that's going on there and why in just one second. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling

to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Okay. Australia. What's happening down under? This is craziness. The videos that I have seen are crazy of the protesters getting beaten by police officers in the name of public health.

So it's insane. Let us back up just a little bit. So parts of Australia have locked down again because of a seven-day. average of four deaths. Now, all the people who have died in all of the world, Australia, the United States, everywhere else, absolutely matter. They are people made in the image of God. They have souls that are going to live forever. They had people that loved them. And so every single death matters. It's not insignificant. But when you are talking about public policy that affects the lives, the livelihoods, and the mental health of millions of people,

you have to make a calculus. Like you have to look at the equation and say, okay, what makes sense? Let's do some cost-benefit analysis here when we're kind of weighing the cost of our policies. Like that's what good leaders would do, right? They wouldn't be hysterical. They wouldn't drive people to panic. And especially in a place like Australia. When you think Australia, you don't think Chinese Communist Party.

And yet that is how the government in Australia is. acting when it comes to so-called public health policy. So this is an average, a seven-day average of four deaths out of 25 million people that live in Australia. So Australia did not report a single death from October of 2020 to July of 2021. Good job. Australia. And now fewer than 10 people have died in the last week. And the people in Australia are barely allowed to leave their homes. of that. So here are the new restrictions, according to nine news in parts of Australia. Only the only, these are the only reasons that you're allowed to leave your home, leave your home shopping for essential items, one person only. So you're not allowed to go with

anyone else. I don't, what do you do? By the way, if you're like a single parent, are you allowed to go with your dependents? Because you're also only allowed to designate like one person to be able to have any sort of like community and fellowship with. And so I guess that person has to be your babysitter. I don't even know how this would work. So you can only leave your home shopping for essential items. You can leave for care and compassionate reason. So they recognize that human beings can't live in isolation.

Solitary confinement is the cruelest form of punishment that we allow. And yet we are, we are, forcing people into it, basically, in the name of public health, but only one visitor is allowed for these so-called care and compassionate reasons. You can leave your house for exercise in groups no more than two, excluding groups of household members within five kilometers or within the local government district, I guess. So no outdoor recreation, no outdoor recreation, because that makes a lot of sense for a virus that we know that can be, it can respond well to vitamin D in the sense that it can actually reduce the length of symptomatic in infection and it can also be

preventative to a certain degree. And we also know that the virus does it transmit effectively at all outside. But no outdoor recreation says the Australian government work in education that cannot be conducted remotely, which I guess they would call essential business. So some terms that the government there has been using single bubble. That means people who live alone can nominate one designated family member or friend to visit for companionship. They'll be required to be registered with the government, by the way, so they don't trust you to actually pick that bubble.

I think it's actually singles bubble. So they don't trust you to be able to designate your bubble. You actually have to require that bubble of people with the government. So schools will conduct remote learning but will remain open for students who need them. That's under the education umbrella. Masks must be worn in all non-residential indoor settings outside while waiting for, I guess, a cab or something. at outdoor markets and in all common property shared spaces of a residential building will be mandatory everywhere outside the home except for when exercising from Monday, August 23rd,

but you're only allowed to exercise for up to one hour. So, okay, in addition to the stay at home order, it says must wear a mask at all times outside, like we said, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew as of August 23rd. that's today. Exercise limited to one hour per day that must not go farther than five kilometers from the house for exercise, shopping or single bubble visits, must not leave their LGA local government authority for work except for emergency services and health care workers, child care workers and disability workers in the LGA must have their first vaccine dose by August 30th, authorized workers must carry a service NSW permit. Construction workers can attend

unoccupied sites if they meet vaccination conditions. So if you don't, I guess you are, you're just out of luck and you don't have a job anymore. A curfew has been introduced across 12 local government areas in Greater Sydney where coronavirus cases are at their highest. Of course, they are not high. So people literally cannot leave their homes. They cannot leave their homes without the permission of the government. You can't leave your home at all from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Like what in the police state is this? Can you imagine the state telling you not to leave your home? And honestly, there are millions of people here in the United States that would be totally fine with that. Like, that's what I'm convinced of. And that's what I, it just boggles my

mind, the lack of love for liberty that people have for just the semblance of safety. It's not even, we don't even know if this stuff is keeping people from being infected by coronavirus. And yet people are like, oh, yes, please. I love the government so much. Big Brother really does care about me. Sure, I'll stay inside if the government says so. It's mind-boggling to me. Real clear politics reports this, quote,

a Sydney-Australia family says their 12-year-old daughter was pepper sprayed while two other family members were arrested for not following face mask rules during a shopping trip. So there are videos of this going around on Twitter, which is actually strange. It's hard to find them. It was not hard to find them the other day. I don't know this, but I would not be surprised at all if Twitter is, for some reason, suppressing that. But I did see that in the video, at least one of the officers appears to not be wearing a mask.

And they're certainly not socially distancing. You've got to be kind of up close in order to pepper spray a 12-year-old. I mean, it's insane. It's insane. There was a video I saw circulating, again, which is hard to find now, of helicopters hovering over a beach in Australia, telling people to obey public health orders that is totally dystopian. Some people seem to not have understood that 1984 wasn't like a guide for what the government should do, but a warning against, a warning against what happens when we continue to surrender our freedoms. The total number of deaths since March of 2020 in Australia is 984. If my calculation is correct, that is like 0.003% of the population. Of course, all of those lives matter.

But look, there have been over 800 suicide attempts in Australia. In just the past six months, there is an epidemic of teen suicide. that is happening in Australia and teen suicide attempts that's happening in Australia, I am sure in large part due to the isolation that we have forced upon children without thinking one bit about their mental health. It's insane. It's insane. If you really care about lives, if you really care about public health, you have to realize that people aren't just bodies and vectors for a virus, but they also have hearts, they also have souls. is I have been saying, and a lot of people, not just me, but we have definitely been saying for a year

and a half on this podcast that you have to care about the entire person. Like, this is not how human beings are meant to live. You will see more suicide because of this. It's cruel. It's cruel. Okay. I mean, I care about the people who have died. I know people personally who have been put on a vent. I know people who know people themselves who are probably not going to survive this virus. I know people whose parents have died from this virus and so I'm not minimizing that but look people cannot live in isolation. You can't take away people's livelihoods and then expect them to be okay. You have to care about those things too. The progressive mentality about human nature that humans can be endlessly adapted to different kinds of public policies and different kinds of environments, it's just a lie.

People were made, they were created by God to live in community. That's one of the parts of being an image bearer of God because we were made in God's image and God is living eternally in community as a triune God, the Father's Son, the Holy Spirit are living in community with one another. So we were not made to live in isolation by ourselves. We have to have fellowship. We have to community. And taking that away from people is going to drive people to the brink of insanity. And it's definitely going to drive people to anger. So that's what we're seeing right now. We are seeing in Australia protests. We are seeing people. store in the streets. We are seeing arrests. We are seeing police beating people again in the name of

public health because people want to go outside. Like people want to be free. People want to be able to travel. So let me show you some of the clips of the crazy protests that are happening right now in Australia. So these people, I mean, they're not armed, obviously, because Australia made the fateful decision to surrender their guns again in the name of public safety. And so now they are bearing the consequences of giving up their right to self-defense simply because like this is why this is this is why I know it's controversial to say, but it's just true. Like the Second Amendment was created. So people have the right to self-defense and they had the right to defend themselves against the violence of tyrants.

Like, it wasn't to hunt. That is not why the Second Amendment exists. That's a great reason for it. But when you disarm the populace, they are easier to control. So I'm very glad that Australians are, they're protesting the way that they still can. That's really good. And I definitely would not. I know there are some people who disagree with me on this.

I would not call for violence. You're not going to see me doing that. I do call for peaceful protesting. I do call for people speaking up and people standing up and people pushing back. The police told Reuters that they arrested 218 people in Melbourne and issued 236 fines for breaking public health orders at $3,900 each. So because I care about my neighbor, I care about people's freedom. Like I care about them not being ruled under a police state.

Like that matters, not just there, but also here. And we are watching what it looks like for people to be pushed by tyrants to the brink of insanity in some cases, the brink of suicide in some cases, the loss of livelihood. And certainly to their breaking point. They just can't take it anymore. And you absolutely have an obligation while you can as lawfully as possible, as lawfully as possible to push back against tyrants. And so I am glad the people of Australia have realized this. I hope that at some point people in the United States realize that so many of these arbitrary

guidelines and restrictions that are being placed on people, especially on children, are not really for your health. It's for control. It's for control. Now, listen to this story, too. If you don't believe me that this is not really about health. This is from Sky News. rescue dogs shot dead in Australia over coronavirus restrictions. A council in Australia killed the impounded animals to prevent volunteers at an animal shelter from traveling to pick them up and potentially spreading the virus. Let me read that to you again. A council in Australia killed shot impounded animals to prevent volunteers at an animal shelter

from traveling to pick them up and potentially spreading the virus. So that's how Australia is going. if you want to see the trajectory of continuing allow politicians who do not care about you, who don't care about your child, who really, as we will see in just one second, aren't even scared of coronavirus, this is the trajectory of continuing to allow them to take your freedoms away in the name of public health. It's cruelty. It's cruelty on a humanitarian level. It's cruelty when it comes to how they're treating animals. If they really cared about lives, do you think that they would be doing things like this? No, no. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. But,

But so here's how we're going to transition to the next thing that I told you guys that I had good news. And this is part, okay, so part of the good news is that, okay, Australians have woken up and they're pushing back against this kind of thing. They're pushing back against a police state, which I do, I do believe is a way to love your neighbor. While you still can, you push back against tyranny. Tyranny always hurts the most vulnerable, as we have already noted, like suicides are going up as a result of this. So do you, do you love your teenage neighbor that's on the brink of suicide? suicide because of loneliness, well, then you need to speak up about this as Australians are. Now, the weird thing about Australia is that if you look at their mask mandate, it is only required

for people ages 12 and up. Now, that is very different from the United States, where in many areas and on planes, kids as young as two, as young as two, are required to wear masks. Now, we talked about last week we did a whole episode and I've written a whole article about all of the peer reviewed studies, all of the scientific analysis, all of the data that says that kids should not be wearing masks. And actually that mask mandates in general really have no effect whatsoever on the spread of the virus if we're ready for that conversation, which a lot of people have been having for the past year and a half. But kids should not be mandated to wear masks. And most of our peer countries in Europe do not require kids to wear masks. I mean, considering,

Consider the fact that Australia, one of the most tyrannical places right now when it comes to COVID restrictions does not require kids under the age of 12 to wear masks. And yet here in the United States, you actually have districts in places like Florida, like Texas, like Tennessee, who are trying to sue the state or trying to defy the governor's ban on mask mandates in schools by saying, no, we're just going to mandate that kids, kindergartners have to wear masks. we are going to mandate that two-year-olds in these areas have to wear masks at daycare. Some of you have reached out to me that your kid who is going to daycare, young as two years old, is going to be forced to wear a cloth mask all day. I'm sorry. I know people get mad at me when I say this, but that is a form of child abuse. That's a form of child abuse.

It is. And people say, oh, well, it's not child abuse. There are people who are really abused. Yes, there are people who are abused worse than that. Absolutely. And I don't believe that the intent necessarily is abuse, but the impact. impact is. Tell me what it is when you force a child to do something that only has physical and psychological harm and no clear benefits. What is that called? What's that called? Is that not a form of

abuse? But here's what I think is a piece of good news in all of this is that New York magazine, which is a very liberal magazine, is actually reporting on the fact that mask mandates among kids don't work. They don't work. I'll link to my past episode and my article on this, but the fact that New York Magazine is talking about this is a very good thing. It means that possibly, possibly the dam is breaking. And I'm going to read you some excerpts from that article in just one second. All right. Let me tell you guys about this article, which I was so surprised to see. I also felt very vindicated because I, you know, I compiled all of that data about mask wearing and the fact that it's not effective for kids to be wearing masks.

And I got way more support than I got to tractors or any pushback. But I did get pushed back. And there were people that I know for a fact did not read the article and just said, oh, you're citing yourself. You know, Alliebethstocky.com is your source? No. Those people didn't look at all of the studies that were linked. And people there was this one woman who calls herself a doctor was like,

oh, this is just so unintelligent. And it was just a screenshot of the link to the blog post. So this person didn't even read it. And so some people, like, masking is just, it's a religion for them. It's become an outward symbol of their alleged virtue. Like, they think that it makes some sort of statement about how loving and compassionate they are. And it's become, therefore, a part of their identity. And so it doesn't matter how many facts you bring up. They're not actually thinking rationally. They're thinking emotionally. And it's really hard to get someone to change their mind who is only thinking emotionally by using logic and data. It's almost impossible. But I say almost impossible because I do think it's possible. And that's why it's important

that we continue to talk about it. And so I was very happy to see in New York Magazine, this author, David Zwig, talking about this. So he mentioned at the beginning of the article that the CDC published what he says is a notable yet mostly ignored large-scale study of COVID transmission in American schools. And he links to the article. And the study, which is, or the summary of the study, which is basically the only thing that people even read when they're looking at these studies, says that masking then unvaccinated teachers and improving ventilation.

with more fresh air were associated with the lower incidence of the virus in schools. They said these are common sense measures, and they said that, you know, all of these things need to be implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus in schools. However, the article goes on to say, other findings of equal importance in the study, however, were absent from the summary and were not widely reported. These findings cast doubt on the impact of many of the most common mitigation measures in American schools. Distencing hybrid models, classroom barriers, hepa filters, and most notably, requiring student masking, were each found to not have a statistically significant benefit.

In other words, these measures could not be said to be effective. And then he goes on to mention, as we have said before, in the UK, Ireland, all of Scandinavia, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy have exempted kids with varying age cutoffs from wearing masks in classrooms. There has been no evidence of more outbreaks in these places in schools relative to the schools in the U.S. where the solid majority of kids wore masks for an entire academic year and will continue to for the foreseeable future. Again, he talks about what we talked about last week that the WHO, whose child masking guidance differs substantially from the CDC's recommendations, have explicitly recognize that the decision to mass students carries with it potential academic and social harms for

children and may lack a clear benefit. And they have not changed that just because of the very transmissible delta variant. And so we are seeing a very different message from the WHO, who, by the way, I think it's a corrupt organization, but even a, you know, a broken clock is right twice a day. And so the WHO has said, you know, there are a lot of harms in masking kids. UNICEF, which I think is another, you know, corrupt organization says that you should under no circumstances be masking kids under the age of five. Again, I linked to that in the blog post that I published a couple weeks ago. And they said, really kids age 5 to 11 only if they have to wear masks should only be made to

wear masks for a certain amount of time in certain situations, but really they don't recommend mask wearing under the age of 12. The American Academy of Pediatrics, this is weird and it's going to take us on a little bit of an aside. They said that kids need to be wearing masks aged two and up. They had a tweet that they put out where they said, and this was just stunning, American Academy of Pediatrics. Babies and young children study faces. So you may worry that, having masked caregivers would harm children's language development. There are no studies to support this concern. Young children will use other clues like gestures and tone of voice.

So I think we talked about this actually last week. So their first sentence actually contradicts the next sentence. Babies and young children study faces. Okay, so they know that for a fact. And so understandably, we may worry that wearing a mask covering half of your face, the most expressive part of your face, is going to hinder their communication, their neurological development.

They're saying, no, there's no studies. Yeah, there are no studies. There are no studies if you don't study it. Good one, AAP. But actually, they did have a study on their website that talks about the importance of FaceTime with a baby, with your kids, smiling at them,

them seeing how you move your mouth when you're speaking is very important for babies, very important for toddlers. It's especially important for kids with special needs. kids who are hard of hearing, kids who are autistic, they need to see the full spectrum of human emotion on the face to really have that kind of emotional intelligence and be able to gain social cues that are already hard for them to gain because of their special needs. But it's also important for kids who don't have special needs.

The American Academy of Pediatrics had a study showing that on their website and they took it down. They took it down. So you can actually see where the link, where the link, where the link. link used to exist, or at least you could a few days ago when I, when I searched this on Duck, dot, go. But when you click on it, it doesn't actually take you to that page. Now, thankfully, the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics still has, still has the study or still has at least a summary of that study on their website. And so I was able to read that.

It's from 2013. and it talks about how important how important FaceTime is, how important smiling is and talking to your baby is, and all of this is much harder when you have a mask on. I mean, obviously they can't see your smile with a mask on. And the AAP, again, like 1984, is just memory holding that information. So you're going to tell me that they actually care about our kids' help. Why should we listen to the AAP on anything?

Now, there are scientists. There are pediatricians within the AAP that I think differ on this. And some of them are actually quoted in this particular article. And some of them are quoted in the article that I wrote. But as an upfront position, they are saying that kids need to be masked at two years old. And of course, all caregivers at all times need to be masked around children. It absolutely makes no sense whatsoever. It's political.

So once again, whenever I hear that Republicans are the ones that are politicizing this, no, no, the people on the left, these organizations, politicians on the left have been politicizing this. From the moment they figured out they could use it against Donald Trump, now they figured out they can use it against conservatives. They can use it to try to fight some kind of war against Republican governors. That's exactly what the Biden administration is doing by condemning their Republican governors from banning mask mandates. That's exactly what the school districts who are trying to sue these governors who are banning mask mandates, mask mandates. are doing, they're not following the science. They're not following the science, whether it's in, whether it's in Florida or Tennessee or Texas, these school districts that are saying, no, we are

absolutely going to make kindergartners wear masks. We are not going to politicize this virus. We care about our kids. You're politicizing it because you're not following the science. You are just trying to score points against Ron DeSantis and I see you and I see your lack of compassion and I'm not going to let you get away with it. Or at least I hope the people in your district aren't going to let you get away with it. And I am going to arm them with as much information with as much data as I possibly can to make sure that you don't get away with it. So this article in New York magazine goes on to talk about the American Academy of Pediatrics, how this is clearly a political stance, how it's contradicted by some of their own studies. It goes on to say in

Florida, Tennessee, and elsewhere local school board meetings are verging on violence as parents and officials fight over the question. But with tens of millions of American kids headed back to school in the fall, their parents and political leaders owe it to them to have a clear-sighted scientifically rigorous discussion about which anti-COVID measures actually work and which might put an extra burden on vulnerable young people without meaningfully or demonstrably slowing the spread of the virus. In that context, the best practices for mask use in schools, elementary schools are particularly are much less obvious than CDC guidance and news headlines about keeping schools safe might have you believe. So again, the CDC is going against the science on all of this. These are bureaucrats before

they are actually scientists. Now, the study by the CDC looked at 90,000 elementary school students in 16th, Georgia schools from November 16th to December 11th. And again, they found there was no statistically significant impact from kids being forced to wear masks. This particular journalist reached out to the CDC. They reached out to the American Academy of Pediatrics asking, hey, you know, what's your evidence? What's your underlying data for the recommendations that you are putting forth that all two-year-olds and up need to be wearing masks?

The American Academy of Pediatrics did not respond to this journalist, which is revealing in itself. the CDC press office replied that since children under 12 cannot be vaccinated, the agency recommends schools do universal masking and then included links to unrelated materials on vaccines and a recent outbreak among adults. So again, did not answer the question. That's because I don't know what the politics are behind it. I don't understand the nefarious reasons.

I don't understand the ulterior motives. Like it just doesn't make sense, like the same people who seem to want to turn America into Europe and are constantly louding, you know, the policies of Scandinavia on this. They are departing from that. And I truly don't understand. So this is Elisa Schechter Perkins, who is the director of emergency medicine, infectious disease management at Boston Medical Center, said a year ago, I said, masks are not the end of the world. Why not just wear a mask? But the world has changed.

There are real downsides to masking children. for this long with no known end date and without any clear upside. Without any clear upside. I'm not aware of any studies that show conclusively that kids wearing masks in schools has any effect on their own morbidity or mortality or on the hospitalization or death rate in the community around them. So like they're even not. And we talked about this again. It is very rare that they even transmit the virus to teachers or to adults. And by the way, if the vaccine works, And these people are pro vaccine, then everyone above the age of 12 has already had the opportunity to get the vaccine. And so why would they be scared of kids transmitting the virus to them if they got the vaccine that they apparently believe works?

So the article then goes on to talk about how children are less likely to have severe disease from SARS-CoV-2. They're less likely to be symptomatic. and even though it might be okay for adults to wear masks, even though I think these masks are highly ineffective, they say children are not little adults. Just because something is okay for adults does not mean that it is okay for kids. A difference between the effectiveness of requiring masks on children in schools and adults and other environments would not be a surprising finding. This may in part explain why the CDC said he did not find a statistically significant. benefit in elementary age kids, but did see a benefit in unvaccinated teachers. Again, I would probably push back on that based on the other data that we have, that we have talked about.

Cloth masks in 95s, KN 95s, none of these seem to make any kind of difference in effectiveness when it comes to masking kids. Again, the WHO, they say, has repeatedly affirmed their guidance for children under the age of six not to wear masks that it's actually harmful for them to wear masks. And so we don't actually know where the CDC, where the AAP is getting any of their data. But we do know for sure that this is going to have a negative impact on kids. So I'm going to link if you didn't see me link it on Instagram or on Twitter. I'm going to link this article in the description of this podcast episode so you can read it for yourself and you can arm yourself with the data that you need to talk

to your school board. Your local health officials, unfortunately, they have a big hand in this. Now, there have been, I got a message this morning from someone, and this just makes my heart sink. So they used the data that I compiled on my blog post. She rallied a bunch of other parents who don't want their kids to be wearing masks. And they went to their school board. They changed the mind of two people on their school board. And so the school board ended up voting to make masks.

optional, whereas it was mandated before. The rest of the board is really mad and is trying to somehow reverse this decision. But it makes a difference. It makes a difference. I mean, maybe it, maybe it won't. I can't guarantee, obviously, that kind of result everywhere that you live. But looking at the data, taking the facts that I've provided you with, that a lot of other people can provide you with that have been doing this work for a very long time. and finding other parents that agree with you, even just five other, you know, five other sets of parents that agree with you.

Going to your school's administrators, the teachers at the school probably can't make a difference, but you can get them to join in with you. Going to the school's administrators, if you're at a private school, going to the local school board, if you're at a public school, trying to talk to your local health officials.

This can make a big difference when you are armed with facts. Now, again, a lot of these people are not thinking rationally. They're just thinking about what looks good for them. They're thinking about the political fights that they might be having with their Republican governor. So they might not give one lick what you say to them, but you might be able to change some people's minds. And it matters. Now, we have seen some, what I consider some reprehensible behavior from some people that seem to be threatening. The other side with violence, I obviously do not recommend that. I would say that we have to raise a respectful ruckus, as I say.

so that means being as peaceful and as kind as possible, but that doesn't mean that you can't be bold. That doesn't mean that you can't be brazen. That doesn't mean that you can't be brutally honest because like your kids' well-being is on the line and that absolutely matters. And so if you're someone who has been sitting on the sidelines, then I recommend that now is the time to get in the game.

Like now is the time to talk about this stuff. You see what's happening in Australia. For the people who say, oh, it's just a mask. It's just this little thing. it doesn't really it doesn't really matter giving up your freedom especially when like there is absolutely no public health benefit to it it absolutely matters and for people who cite you know romans 13 yes that's an important passage but you have a right to speak up it's not illegal it's not illegal for you to push back on this stuff like you are this are elected officials

are supposed to be beholden to the constitution you've got the free speech right to stand up for this. The state, as we always say, does not care about your kids. You care about your kids. You know about your kids. It is your God-given responsibility to speak up for your kids. When something like wearing a mask only proves to be psychologically and physically harmful and has no physical or psychological benefit, like that is a form of abuse. Again, I don't think that's the intent, but it does end up being the impact. And so, I mean, if we could get the the airlines to no longer require this. I would say that that is a huge win.

But let's start at schools and let's start with your voice coming together with other voices and using facts to push back on what I think is just absolutely egregious policy. Something else that I found interesting just talking about masks in general was this 2003 article when there was a SARS outbreak then. And this is from Australia. So this is from the Sydney Morning Herald. Listen to this first line. Retailers who cash in on community fears about SARS by exaggerating the health benefits of surgical masks could face fines up to $110,000. And so there were retailers

who are saying, oh, this mask is going to protect you. The surgical mask is going to protect you from this virus. And scientists knew that this wasn't the case. And so they, you know, the authority said, look, you can't swindle people like this. You're not going to be able to. to trick people and you are going to get fined an insane amount if you try to trick people by telling them that this is, that this is effective. And so they knew that, Professor Yvonne Cassart of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Sydney said those masks, the surgical masks, are only effective so long as they are dry and they become ineffective in as little as 15 or 20 minutes after which the mask must be changed. If you talk to a nurse, that you'd talk to you,

used to, you know, if they were wearing masks with a flu patient, for example, in the hospital, uh, they would be told to change their mask after every patient because it becomes unsanitary. And so we've known these things to be true for a very long time. And the fact that we are continuing to push this, it just doesn't make any sense. And as we say, often, we have to live not by lies. We have to live not by lies. And masks will start with, we'll start with the kids. It's a lie. It's a lie that it's helpful. And I think that we are required by God to live not by lies. Let me close out by reading you this one tweet by or tweet. C.S. Lewis did not tweet this, but he did say this. He did write this. And you've probably heard it before. But I think that it, it goes well with what we're talking about. Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busy bodies. the robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep his cupidity may at some point be satiated but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims is without a doubt the most oppressive and we do have the obligation while we have the freedom to do so to love our communities by pushing back against tyranny especially that which is done in the name of our good All right, we'll be back here tomorrow.

See you guys then. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty,

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