The pandemic hypocrisy of Democrats is killing people

OPINION:

In his classic work, “The Book of Virtues,” former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett recounts the story of a young boy who brought death and ruin upon himself and his community by his lies. We have all heard the tale over and over again in our youth. It goes like this. 

“There was once a shepherd boy who kept his flock at a little distance from the village. Once, he thought he would play a trick on the villagers and have some fun at their expense. So, he ran toward the village crying out, with all his might: ‘Wolf! Wolf! Come and help! The wolves are going to kill my lambs!’

“The kind villagers left their work and ran to the field to help the boy. But when they got there, the lad only laughed at them for their pains; there was no wolf there.

“Still another day, the boy tried the same trick, and the villagers came running to help and were laughed at again.  

“Then one day, a wolf did break into the fold and began killing the lambs. In great fright, the boy ran back for help. ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ he screamed. ‘There is a wolf in the flock killing my lambs! Help!’

“The villagers heard him, but they thought it was another of his lies; no one paid attention. No one did what he asked. And the shepherd-boy lost all his sheep.” 

For the past 10 months, all of us have heard the panicked cries from our nation’s political class and their complicit lemmings in the mainstream media: “COVID! COVID! Stay home! Don’t travel! Close your businesses! Wear a mask,” they bewail. “COVID is going to kill us all!”

And time and time again, we, the “villagers,” have responded with selflessness and sacrifice and tried to do our part.  

We have “left our work” and set aside our own good for the sake of others. We have put our livelihoods on the line and our lives on hold to “run to the fields” at the behest of our leaders who have told us the wolf is real.

But, time and time again, as we’ve approached the fields, we’ve found the very people who screamed loudest of danger are the same ones now laughing at us as they sit smugly at the parties we are forbidden to attend.   

Here’s just a sampling of those who seem to be falling over themselves vying for our nation’s “Shameless Shepherd Award:”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom enjoys an evening out at one of his state’s most expensive French restaurants. No masks required.

Just one day later, San Francisco Mayor London Breed does the same thing at the same place. Apparently, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes to the streets with thousands of others to celebrate Joe Biden’s “victory.” Social distancing be damned.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi forces a California hair salon to violate California “law” so she can get her “do” done. Her message is clear: Laws for thee are not laws for me.

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo breaks quarantine while he excoriates conservatives for breaking quarantine. He tells those questioning his hypocrisy to “go to hell.”

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser travels out of state while telling everyone else that they must not travel out of state. Can you spell two-faced duplicity?

The list goes on and on.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl dines out after voting to ban outdoor dining. Austin Mayor Steve Adler flies to Cabo San Lucas after telling everyone else not to fly and “stay home if you can.” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock tells people not to travel for Thanksgiving and then immediately hops on a plane to travel for Thanksgiving. And even the high priest of scientism himself, the grand and glorious Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been caught on camera yucking it up, mask-less, at a Washington Nationals baseball game.  

The message from these folks who fancy themselves our betters is loud and clear: The danger is an illusion. The beast isn’t real. Or at least it isn’t real enough for them to concern themselves with the same precautions that they impose on all of the rest of us, their faithful servants.  

“Wolf, Wolf! Stay home! Stay safe!” They’ve repeatedly shouted, only to smirk smugly as they go about their daily lives.   

The moral of this fable is not that wolves aren’t real. It is that when danger does come, no one believes the warnings anymore because we’ve been lied to for so long. Or as Aesop summarizes: “This is the kind of thing that happens to people who lie: even when they do tell the truth, they will not be believed.”   

Every COVID-19 death suffered in the days ahead should be laid at the feet of those who were too arrogant to live by their own rules. The blood of the lambs is on the hands of the shepherds who did the lying.  

• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Daycare: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery).