Total Eclipse of the State

 

An eclipse of the sun is the most obvious astronomical effect visible from the earth's surface. It occurs when the shadow of the moon passes across the earth. They are actually not rare; one occurs at least every eighteen months, however they don't always appear in the same place. Actually a spot on the earth's surface can only expect to experience a total solar eclipse about once every three to four hundred years. As a result they are an event of curiosity and wonder for the people who live where one occurs. Often people will have a festival of some kind and eclipses are also connected to numerous superstitions in all cultures. During a total eclipse the location becomes almost as dark as night for a few minutes, usually about four to seven, although in 1973 some people aboard a Concorde supersonic airliner enjoyed totality for seventy-four minutes as the plane chased the moon's shadow at mach two, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzwwofB5_Nc. Eclipses are generally harmless. They can be alarming for some people and for more intelligent animals like dogs and horses; but after the moon's shadow moves on things just return to normal. The only real danger involved in an eclipse is if people try to look at the sun. This can cause serious eye injury, possibly resulting in permanent blindness. It is important never to look at the sun without special observation sunglasses; normal sunglasses are not good enough. Next Monday there will be a total eclipse over North America; here is a good guide for watching it: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-watch-a-solar-eclipse-safely/.
 
As I said, a solar eclipse is a completely normal and natural event with a very simple cause; it is a part of the earth's relationship to other bodies in the solar system. It can also do no harm so long as the people in its locale are sensible and take basic precautions. Therefore I have to wonder why the hell the government have declared a state of emergency. When I first heard of about this on Monday I assumed it was an April Fool, but it wasn't. The Ontario Niagara Region and the US state of Indiana will both be under police and military lockdown throughout Monday. Why? Because large numbers of people from areas close to the eclipse path are planning to travel to the locale to witness totality and the authorities are concerned that they will cause traffic jams and threaten "infrastructure", that all too commonly used word. Governor Holcomb of Indiana said: "The massive number of people viewing this event in our state may well stress and/or interfere with first responder and public safety communications and emergency response systems such that a technological or other emergency may occur," It is quite normal for people to travel deliberately to an eclipse locale. When one occurred in 1999 in the UK several hundred thousand people flocked to the southwest coast of England to enjoy it. I myself stayed in Oxford, but we had a 98% partial eclipse here and I went to Port Meadow with some friends to get a good view. There was no state of emergency needed to cope with it, except maybe a few extra traffic policemen to clear congestion. Seaside resorts such as Torquay, Penzance, Minehead and St Ives enjoyed a prosperous late season boom. Everybody had a really good time. So why all of a sudden are states of emergency necessary? I honestly think that the government is now just looking for excuses to flex their authoritarian muscles. When there is no real reason they will just make one up. The "nanny state" mentality is more than just annoying, it is sinister. It is reducing the adult population to the level of silly children or even farm animals. Is that what the government really think we are? I discussed this with Trevor of Third Rail the other day, see: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2024/04/third-rail-radio-programme-172.html. On Monday Trevor will be going to the totality path a few miles from his home. In the programme I compared the relationship between the people and the state as an unhappy marriage, with the state definitely playing the role of a histrionic wife. It's time for an amicable divorce.
See here for more information: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2017/08/2017-american-eclipse.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2015/03/astrology-and-eclipse.html.