Italy's Dystopian Nightmare
Italy's Dystopian Nightmare
Two English words I hear frequently in Italy — ‘Green’ and ‘Pass’.
Today it is now impossible to use public transport, board a plane or boat, stay in a hotel, eat in or outside a restaurant or get a coffee in a bar. In February this will be extended to the banks and the post office too.
The lives of the unvaccinated are being systematically destroyed as they incrementally lose their livelihoods and all their civil liberties.
Where regular PCR testing was once permitted that option has now been largely removed. The government announced last week that vaccination for people over 50 will be mandatory from February 15. Non compliance will result in a €100 fine. I was ridiculed last year, “It won’t become mandatory Jason”. These people are in denial or at best incredibly naive. Even in a public square it is not permitted to speak or perform.
Many of the unvaccinated keep a low profile as politicians, virologists and Pope Francis vehemently denounce them. Prime Minister Draghi recently said “most of the problems we have today” are the fault of the unvaccinated. The governor of Campania even got away with announcing he wanted to ‘flamethrower’ the unvaccinated. They are treated like mad tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists, a rhetoric that has intentionally divided society into two groups, pitting one against the other.
In Italy it began with indoor dining, then the workplace, then public transport and more. Slowly but surely, like the boiling frog analogy, civil liberties are whittled away without any sign of returning.
It is disturbing to walk past the bars and restaurants filled with people knowing that they were all required to show their green pass upon entry. As I look through the windows I can’t help but think of the Nazi Aryan passport used to discriminate and separate those deemed unfit to operate in society.
Many hope that their freedom will be returned, but the state of emergency keeps getting extended.
We cannot and must not make the error of putting our hope in change or in a crumbling narrative in which there is no solid foundation.
We must solely hope in our God who is our only deliverer and sure salvation from this tyrannical nightmare.
‘I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honour depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter. Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge’. Psalms 62:5-8
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