A Word on the Coronavirus Panic

I was going to write an article on selective incorporation and the 14th Amendment today but decided to take a pause to make a few points about the newest “crisis” our country is claiming to face (don’t worry, Monday’s article will be about selective incorporation).

It is not my place to say whether or not this virus should or should not be feared (based on the raw numbers, we are nowhere near a crisis right now; but I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an expert on how quickly it could spread or how lethal it could be). However, since I do desire to have a voice in politics and government, I think right now is a great time to help all of you to take a moment, step back, and try to look at this whole situation objectively and through the eyes of the Constitution and theory.

Reminder: Why America Is NOT a Democracy

Remember my article on democracy, entitled “Why America is NOT a Democracy” ? What is happening in America and the world, right now, is a perfect case study—a prime example—for why we do not have a democracy.

Guess what happens when the masses are stirred into an emotional and fearful frenzy? They demand more government.

And guess what is happening right now in America today? We are demanding more government. We look at the short term, not the long term, and demand that the federal government overstep its Constitutional boundaries—-as if it is the only body responsible for whatever situation is being faced. (Do we really want the military walking our streets, and want to experience the power the federal government has during a declared state of emergency?)

Think about it? What are the news reports saying? A cursory glance at the CNN front page speak volumes. The titles of the first few articles are “Trump Likely To Make an Emergency Declaration”; “House Democrats Say Vote Expected Friday on Corona virus Relief”; and “Why It Matters That Trump Hasn’t Been Tested”.

I’m forced to come to a few conclusions when seeing these headlines. First, I might think that people are literally dying in the streets, which they aren’t—but the media’s intentional fear mongering is not the point of this article.

The point is this: who is the media pointing Americans to, to solve all of their problems, to quell the fears they are stirring up? Notice who we, collectively, are expected to look to for funding, support, relief, and stimulus?

The federal government.

And when we come begging for federal aid, is the federal government going to tell us that they won’t divvy out money to us because it is not their Constitutional right to do so?

Heavens no. They’ll happily gobble up their newly endowed powers as we clamor to give those powers to them. Hey, the federal government has no problem with a growing and bloated federal government.

(And no, I do not think that the federal government throwing money at state and local governments is any different than giving it directly to us. When it gives the state and local governments money, guess who has to follow the orders of the federal government now? The state and local governments. Why? They are now spending federal money and at the forced behest of the federal government. A power the federal government thoroughly enjoys).

State and Local Government?

And yet, which governments are most equipped, most aware and most directly connected with their people, and able to most accurately assess and appropriately handle whatever situation their citizens are facing?

State and local governments.

But the media and irrational masses are not thinking coherently right now. Whether the panic is justified or not, it is panic and panic never leads to wise decisions.

Mark my words.

Should this panic continue, our federal government will only grow in size—in potentially unprecedented ways. Should the economy shut down, as a result of the unwarranted panicked responses from all the large corporations and businesses, guess what will happen?

The banks as well as many other companies are going to start demanding for a federal government stimulus and bailout. And what is the federal government going to do? Give it to them. Why wouldn’t they? As soon as they do, these parts of the private industry are now under the thumb of the federal government.

They won’t worry about a citizen backlash punishing them for acting unconstitutionally and snatching away more rights; no, they know the citizens are an uninformed and desperate mob who will punish them if they do not act unconstitutionally.

The federal government loves a good crisis. It is in the federal government’s best interest to have a crisis. And we, the people, go right along with it.

Conclusion

What if, instead of panicking and looking to the federal government to fix everything, we all came together as rational human beings and supported our local governments, while politely telling the federal government to butt out? What if all the local governments were well oiled and supported at the ground level, taking on the protection of every district specifically, methodically and according to each district’s unique needs? One large federal law or bail out cannot touch the unique and specific needs of every district and only gives the federal government more power without really solving the “crisis”.

Let today, this week, and this virus be an example to everyone showing exactly why we do not have a democracy in America.

People, the mass opinion of people, during a crisis, cannot be trusted. Crises are a beautiful tool for federal power and also blame. Let’s remember, the federal government exists only to protect our private property from each other, not to act as the opiate to the masses.

When teaching American government, I always start with this. What was “x” branch like at the start of the nation? What is “x” branch like now? And how did ”x” branch get that way? The change that occurs from the start of the nation until now is always this: the “x” branch’s power has increased dramatically in x, y and z ways. And guess what? Without fail, the changes are almost always due to some or multiple different historical crises, where Americans demanded more of government, forever increasing the power for that branch of government.

Let’s be reasonable. Don’t turn to the federal government to fix everything, especially right now. Otherwise, in a few years, I’ll be adding this “crisis” to the list of “crises” throughout American history that paved the way for unprecedented growths in federal government power.

The Liberty Belle