History is full of cases where compliance is misinterpreted as conviction by those in power. The carnation revolution in Portugal back in 1974 is one such case. The fall of Ceaușescu in 1989 is another. In both events, there was close to 100% compliance with the regime right up to the very end. However, conviction had been eroded to a point where it was virtually non-existent. Once the thin veneer of compliance wore off, nothing could stop the sea change in sentiment that followed.
The amazing thing about these events was the extent to which those in charge were clueless as to the depth of discontent in their nations. They were confident that their political apparatus could stave off any uprising. Surrounded by yes men, the people in charge thought themselves near divine in their omnipotence.
This appears once again to be the case. A whole list of decrees related to the plague were announced from Lisbon yesterday. Hotels, restaurants, bars and theatres are to demand proof of vaccination or recent negative testing from all their clients. Only those marked as clean are allowed to participate in this kind of social interaction.
As always, the politicians simply assume compliance to be 100% with their latest whim, and from the look of it, they've lost no confidence in the people by their latest draconian measures. The reactions out on the streets has been subdued. Compliance with mask wearing rules looked unchanged this morning. But there's nevertheless something afoot. Nobody seems very convinced of the rules. This has been the case for a while now, but I got a feeling that conviction fell a few more notches in reaction to the draconian measures that came from Lisbon. Hence, I've relaxed my compliance with the mask-wearing rules one more notch. I'm now wearing my mask around my arm for easy access in case I need it.
My guess is that hobby fascists will remain absent, and the police will remain reluctant to say or do anything. Should anyone nevertheless approach me, I'll put my mask on without any fuss. I'll ask the person if he or she is vaccinated. If the answer is yes, I'll give my condolences as I did yesterday with much success.
The stage looks set for a swift shift in sentiment. It's impossible to know when it will happen, but people are fed up with the charade. Something dramatic is about to take everyone by surprise, and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
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| Nicolae Ceaușescu |
By not credited - Fototeca online a comunismului românesc, Photo no. #E594,, Attribution, Link
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