So much controversy has surrounded the disastrous COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020.  Masks are bad, then good; protesting en masse is a constitutional right; worshiping in church is forbidden; and now we also have to question the death count related to the virus.  Americans are angry, worried, and confused with the misinformation from our media and our governments.  But one thing has been clear: local government officials have grown ever more addicted to and drunk on power.  They are flexing their might like never before and are training Americans like dogs to Sit, Stay, and Roll Over.

Sit!  Yes, sit still and await your next command.  Sit in front of your cell phone, tablet, or television and watch as we tell you one thing and then reverse it later.  Sit at your window and look out longingly at a world that is rightfully yours, America.  You may look, but you cannot go out and enjoy it.

Stay!  Stay in your homes till we tell you it's safe to go outside.  Stay away from your church.  Stay away from your fitness centers, restaurants, bars, parks, and other places of enjoyment.  Stay away from your jobs that we, the all-powerful politicians, have deemed unessential, even if you go broke and cannot pay your bills.  Force your puppies to stay at home, away from the schools that your taxes have paid for as we continue to pay the teachers who do not want to go near your children.

And most importantly, Roll Over, America, and surrender your constitutional rights!  Listen to us, your elected officials, whom you hired to manage the taxes we take from your pay to provide safety, roads, utilities, and schools.  We are not your employees; we are your Ruling Class.

Roll over and surrender your 1st Amendment rights.  We, the Ruling Class, will tell you what to say and punish you when you say anything we disagree with.

Surrender your safety and 2nd Amendment rights, while we, the Ruling Class, release violent criminals into your neighborhoods and take away your guns, leaving you at their mercy.  Or better, we'll arrest and persecute you for using a gun to protect your family.

Surrender your freedom of choice, as we will tell you when you can work, what schools your children can attend, and how we will use your hard earned dollars for illegal aliens and those we deem "entitled."

As a soldier of 34 years, I was trained to march in formations, dress-right-dress, right face, left face, forward march, and halt.  This was to build a unified group to work and walk as one for a specific purpose: warfare.

What's happening now, though, is not training for warfare.  Our power-drunk politicians are conditioning us to accept their takeover of our freedoms, our liberty, and our way of life.  If we do not take a stand now, America, all that's left for us is to be happy with our new leash, and joyfully Sit, Stay, and Roll Over on command.  "Be a good dog and go into this room.  And you can just ignore the gas."

Oscar Torres is a retired U.S. Army chief warrant officer.