As modern life continues to unfold as if from the pages of a dystopian novel, it is harder and harder to be shocked — or appalled.  Or one would think it should be.  Nonetheless, it happens.

For example, New York State will soon require applicants for permits to carry handguns to hand over lists of their social media accounts.  For a review of their "character and conduct."

This Chinese-like new requirement will take effect in September and was included in a recently passed law that Empire State legislators passed in a huff after the U.S. Supreme Court had the audacity to rule that the Second Amendment to the Constitution actually means what it says — and therefore law-abiding citizens of legal age have a right to carry a handgun for personal protection.

The creepily intrusive — and unconstitutional — new law was promptly signed by tyrannical New York governor Kathy Hochul, who, like Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and the Biden Crime Family, appear to be big fans of the Chinese Communist Party and its social credit system.

I hope you aren't naïve enough to believe that our rulers and their bureaucrat toadies will just look to see if you ever tweeted that you were thinking of shooting up a high school.  No, they will pore through your search history to see if you ever checked out Chick-fil-A's menu or tried to locate the next Trump rally.  They will examine every tweet, blog post, and Facebook post you ever made to see if you ever disparaged a member of the LGBTQIIA+ community or a prominent progressive politician.

Are you a "climate change denier"?  "Anti-vaxxer"?  "Forced-birther"?  Then you have no rights, whether "inalienably" God-given (giggle) or government-granted, including the right to protect and defend yourself, ignorant neanderthal!

Tragically, Western nations are rapidly becoming hyper-secular, shedding all ties with Christianity in general and biblical precepts in particular.  And, in the long run, a decay of morality always leads to a reduction of liberty, freedom...and prosperity.  Always.  There is no historical exception to this observation.  And often to outright tyranny.

At the same time — and as both a symptom and result of this — we are succumbing to an unprecedented societal Alzheimer's disease of memory loss and impaired thinking.  Consequently, we are tearing down statues and excusing — or supporting — "mostly peaceful" riots causing billions of dollars in damage and dozens of lives even as we decry those who wear "MAGA" hats or who believe in certain biblical passages.  

One shudders to think what is next, what other freedoms we will blithely give up, in the puerile, misguided, futile quest for security.  Privacy will soon be an entirely antiquated notion.

If we wish to purchase a knife, will we soon have to list all the books we own?  To purchase a bow and arrow set, if still legal to do so, will it be necessary for us to bring in pictures of all our medications?  If we wish to buy a taser or pepper spray, will we be forced to present the sleeves of all the CDs and DVDs that we own?  Explain why we listened to a Joe Rogan podcast last week?

Talk about a slippery slope.

Memo to Hochul: Who the hell do you think you are, lady?

In truth, it doesn't matter.  Self-evidently, no one has the "right" to deprive us of our natural rights.

And no one can.  Unless we let it happen.

Image via Pxhere.