There’s only one way out of the Branch Covidian dystopian nightmare: stark, unyielding defiance.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Amid a nonprofit group’s lawsuit against Republican Gov. Bill Lee alleging his coronavirus restrictions were unconstitutional, the group is putting up billboards to encourage residents to return to normal.
Tennessee Stands, a conservative group with offices across the state, started the initiative in Johnson City and put up additional billboards in Bristol and Kingsport. The billboards read, “Your Compliance is prolonging this nightmare. Ditch the mask.”
Tri-City Director Danielle Goodrich led the effort in the three cities. She founded the group Johnson City Freedom to try and get kids in person for school during the pandemic. Goodrich also took issue with schools eventually requiring students to mask up upon reopening. She told The Federalist that Americans should not have to “bow down to these absurd, slavish, and oppressive rules, which the government doesn’t have the authority to do.”
“The government can’t tell you not to work,” Goodrich said. “You need to eat. These are unalienable rights. The government’s only purpose is to uphold and protect the unalienable rights of the people, not to infringe upon them.”
Tennessee Stands takes issue with Lee’s COVID response. Hundreds of volunteers are working on the billboard project. One is Angela Grgic, a resident of Columbia who joked her last name would look like a typo. She joined the initiative because the government’s response “didn’t feel right.”
“It seemed like my rights — my constitutional rights — were being taken away from me without my permission,” Grgic said in an interview. “It just didn’t feel right. So some friends and I got together and we were talking about it a lot. We found Gary and Tennessee Stands. We started watching videos and doing more research. We started realizing, ‘Man, why are we complying? Why are we just going along with this because everybody else is?’ We just started pushing back.”
Two Johnston City volunteers concurred with Grgic, and told The Federalist masks have become a political tool. Dr. Denise Sibley, M.D., said masks are “a symbol of control rather than they are a medical intervention.” She has lived in Johnson City for 31 years.
“This is all part of COVID theatre,” Sibley said. “So, if you want to wear it for your theatre, that’s fine. But don’t make everyone else see a new show.”
Good on all these fine Americans, and Godspeed to them. Bottom line:
“I hope this encourages people that are tired of complying with arbitrary rules that there are other people like them,” said Humble. “If we all just stop doing this tomorrow, it ends. The only power these people have is our compliance. It’s the simple principle of the consent of the governed. We’re consenting to unconstitutional government.”
How heartening it is to know that, even today, there are still some folks out there in this stricken land who truly do get it.
The Volunteer state speaks.
“Y’all can go to Hell. I’m going to Texas.” – D. Crockett
Davy was a smart man, but I’m not sure going to Texas was all that good an idea…
Well…. it worked out in the long run – just not for him. 🙂