A few days ago, on a group chat somewhere, someone pointed out that our current predicament looked like multiple dystopian movies playing at once. Police state, authoritarian governments, theocratic governance, open state-sponsored violence against the underprivileged, and now a viral epidemic that is affecting millions all over the world. These are all horrible yes, but the greater danger lies in we the people accepting a culture of oppression as a solution to these problems.

We are already at a point where many in our so-called civilised classes are openly advocating murder of those who oppose the government's policies. We are already happily capitulating to the powers that be, no matter how unreasonable their demands. Be it a surrender of our privacy, the giving up of our civil rights, or our hatred for social workers who are working for our own good, these are not wishes we are going to be able to take back. Forget the current government, no government that follows is going to be willing to give up these powers.