Aussies used to be like Americans used to be: independent, resistant to bullying, intolerant of rules, a bit of a twinkle in their eyes. But no more. Or rather, Aussies are still like Americans are now: subservient, accepting of rules however irrational they may be, sheep-like in obedience to authority.

In parts of Australia, citizens are allowed to leave their homes for only short periods, much like people in prison. Schools and businesses are closed. People are forbidden to speak to other people on the street. Using the excuse of Covid-19, their liberty is more restricted than if they were in Stalin’s Soviet Union.

How, you ask, can free, independent people degenerate into sheep so quickly? Does safety loom so huge in their eyes as to blot out freedom entirely? Does the decline of religion play a role? If this world is all there is, then life and health are all-important, and loss of life or health seems terrifying indeed.

But there is one factor we have not mentioned. Not long ago Aussies were virtually disarmed. The ostensible reason was to prevent mass killings. But only the incurably naive would believe that there is no connection between disarming the citizens and turning them into subservient, compliant, apathetic nonentities. Perhaps there is a lesson here for America.

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