The special privileges afforded to lefties - Dems flaunting the mask mandates they ruthlessly impose on children, Whoopi getting a two-week paid vacation for vicious on-air bigotry - are a key part of how totalitarian ideologies work. Party membership must have benefits.
These privileges must be flaunted. It is vital for the public to see that carrying a Party card confers special treatment and extraordinary benefits. Everyone must understand that the rules are different for Party members. Vulgar displays are sometimes needed to drive this home.
Totalitarianism is the politicization of everything. It's exhausting for the people who must live under its ever-growing, ever-changing rules. This is by design. An exhausted populace, worn down by perpetual fear of saying or doing the Wrong Thing, is easier to control.
But the totalitarian system must be managed by a ruling Party whose card-carrying members are immunized against the shifting maze of rules and taboos in which the public is trapped. The Ruling Class must walk above the maze in order to control the rats running within.
As a political party grows more totalitarian, its elites scoff at the notion of "leading by example." They regard the notion as frankly absurd. THEY need reliable energy, dependable transportation, armed protection, and the other things YOU must do without. THEY don't need masks.
Totalitarian elites would laugh out loud if told they should do all of the things they demand of the Little People, to lead by example. They would roar with mirth if told they should disarm their guards to prove they're serious about gun control, or rely solely on electric cars.
This is partly because the elites have no intention of suffering the way they intend for you to suffer, and party because their ego and ideology tell them Special People like themselves deserve special privileges - they're better than you, so OF COURSE they live better.
But it's also because totalitarianism can only thrive if there is a single ruling Party, and membership in that Party must confer privileges. Even the Little People must be taught to view the lowest echelon of Party members as special and privileged, living by different rules.
This is how the ruling totalitarian party recruits members. Look at every totalitarian party in history - from WW2 fascists, to modern China, to the Democrat Party in America - and you can see this dynamic in play. Join the Party and the rules are different for you.
Smart totalitarians understand there will always be sources of power and wealth that are not directly controlled by even the largest government, unless you embrace pure communism and degenerate into primitive savagery and starvation. Advanced societies inevitably create wealth.
In order to control the power and wealth that exists beyond State control, totalitarians use Party membership as a way to bring rich and influential people into the political fold. It becomes unthinkable for any rich or famous person to resist joining the Party.
The Party is the nimbus of influence and control that extends far beyond the State. The Party puts private capital and influence at the disposal of political elites, so they can wield power far beyond what is granted by law. You can see many examples of this in America today.
If you want all these rich, talented, influential people to join the Party, you must constantly send the message that Party membership has incredible perks - like insurance against Cancel Culture, and special exemptions from silly political superstitions like masking.