The mass formation madness must stop.

Masks, closures, mandates and kids. Our children require better.

My wife, Jill used to work at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park for the research unit called CRES (The Center for Research on Endangered Species) in the late 1980s. She did primary behavior research on mother-infant dyads, both as an intern and later as an employee. In particular, she was involved in behavioral studies involving Lion-tailed macaques, which are an endangered species of monkey from India. The purpose of the research was to find ways to increase the emotional well being of the animals, as some of these monkeys have significant issues breeding in captivity.

There was one mother named Polly and her infant daughter Dewa which were particularly interesting. Polly would let her infant girl nurse for a while and when she was tired of it, she would pull her off her nipple and literally hold Dewa’s head to the concrete floor for about 30 seconds. Dewa would scream and chitter - with her little arms and legs flaying around. Then Polly would suddenly let her go and the infant would run screaming away from her. It was horrifying to watch.

Jill observed this pair through infancy. She continued to observe as Dewa grew up and had an infant son of her own. One day, when the little boy monkey was quite small, Dewa got tired of the baby nursing. She literally pulled him off and held him firmly to the ground as he squirmed and screamed- just as her mother had done to her.

The effects of abuse, neglect and harms done to children can and will pass through generations. Often, these long-term effects on the person are unknown until the person is grown up and has children of their own.

Our children are our future. They must be protected from heavy handed, ineffective policies that marginally protect adults over the well being of our more precious asset. Our children. Let me write it again for emphasis… our children are our future.

I have written and spoken out about vaccine mandates for children and why they are wrong. Children are rarely at risk of severe disease from COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 and almost all deaths of children have been those with co-morbidities. The vaccines have a high adverse event profile in children that has not been fully analyzed. This is reason enough to not allow mandates, even State government or regional school board mandates. But I have not written as much about masks, school closures, and the selfishness of teacher’s unions, who are more interested in protecting themselves than children.

Children are at very little risk from COVID-19 severe disease. Most kids in the USA now have natural immunity, many have been vaccinated, and Omicron is nothing more than a cold for the vast majority of children and adults. Even during Delta, children rarely develop severe COVID-19 disease. They have strong, healthy immune systems. This disease is stratified by age and co-morbidities. We all know this by now. Furthermore, neither masks nor vaccines prevent infection, replication or transmission of the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2.

There is no reason to mask children in schools. There is no reason to mask children in shops, restaurants, parks, after school program, etc. There is no reason for children to have plexiglass shields around them in the class room. There is no reason why we need to deny children exercise programs, sports, after school care and physical education. It is time to end social distancing programs and let kids be kids. Children are social beings. Having normal social interactions with other people, with other children is critical to growing up in a healthy environment. Social isolation of children is not ok. Sports, after school program, childcare, recreational activities and extracurricular activities need to return to normalcy.

One important way children learn is by mimicry. Facial expressions of friends, teachers, mentors, parents not only are important for speech development, they are important for children to learn emotional norms and behaviors. We do not know what damage we are doing by masking. At this point, long term effects are unknown.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 unvaccinated children must be treated no differently than any other child. It is not anyone’s business other than the parent’s whether a child is vaccinated for COVID-19 or not. American’s have a fundamental right to privacy and there is no exclusionary clause for people younger than a certain age. Unvaccinated children or unmasked children should not be segregated, shamed or put in special rooms. They should not be excluded from the playground or sports activities. Society, our government, is doing an unprecedented and known amount of damage to the healthy development of our children. This has to stop.

COVID-19 testing of our school children needs to end. Not only is it a medical procedure that is being forced upon children, often without their permission, it is not needed. It is uncomfortable and more than that, it is a violation of their bodies. This is particularly true when schools and other social institutions are forcing this test upon children because of their vaccination status.

As the Biden administration doubles down on masks, testing and vaccines for children, people are waking up. The democrats are creating an army of new republicans and independent families, who are currently and will be voting in the future at the midterms.

That's a 14-percentage point swing from a nine-point Democratic advantage to a five-point GOP edge, and among the largest advantages the GOP has ever held in Gallup polling.

As we travel around the country, speaking a conferences, churches, summits and rallies, we hear from parents over and over again phrases like this.

“I used to be a democrat, but now I don’t think I will ever be able to vote for a democrat again.”

“ I don’t know what I am anymore.”

“I am questioning everything I use to believe about the democratic party”

The science is very clear on our children. The data is clear. Children need to be allowed to have normal childhoods. Our parents who are paying attention know this.

Our children are our most precious assets.

If you doubt what I am saying, then Listen to their stories.

And then listen to what a pediatric cardiologist and a pediatric psychiatrist have to say about this.

What we are doing is wrong. It must stop. Now. The damage already done will last for decades.