As you all know, I like to devote the first Monday of every month to discussion. Given that the coronavirus seems to be the topic most people are invested in discussing and figuring out, I wanted to open up the floor to hear from you all about it.
But before I post my questions, I want to touch on a few points:
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We’re living under a state controlled country right now. This is how it feels to have lost liberty. We can’t go to the grocery story, the park, a friend’s house, nowhere, without the possibility of law enforcement checking in to see what we are doing. We’re told by government to stay in doors, to close our businesses, to keep a certain distance away from other people. Honestly, for those that love big government and total government control (i.e. those on the liberal side of the spectrum), are quite happy with this way of living. It’s a dream for those who want government to be able to dictate the moves of every American.
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Americans are not accustomed to such scrutiny and to such lack of liberty. In countries that have never known liberty, that have always been subject to government regulation in all circumstances, what Americans are being subject to today is of no consequence to them. But let me just say here and now, Americans are not accustomed to government micromanaging their lives. Americans are far too independent, individualistic and stubborn to feel comfortable with so much government control in the long run. Even now, Americans are still finding ways to do what they want, no matter what government says. And honestly, it’s not just average American citizens who aren’t keen on the micromanagement, it’s also the police themselves.
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Americans will only put up with this type of control for so long. Here’s the thing. Americans are acquiescing to the government because they are trying to be sensitive to and respect that there is a virus going around. However, the extremity of the reaction does not always equate the extremity of the problem. For instance, between April of 2009 and April of 2010, the CDC estimates that some 60.8 million Americans contracted the swine flu, 273,204 were hospitalized and 12,469 people died. Why didn’t the U.S. react then in the same way it is reacting now? Serious question and one I think many Americans are silently aware of and contemplating. They’ll put up with the government control right now, but if things start not adding up, I don’t see the acquiescence lasting much longer.
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Americans are blessed that it’s state level control rather than federal. I wrote a post on this earlier, but it is remarkable how much the federal government has chosen to stay tactfully removed from the day to day regulation and enforcement of the shelter-in-place laws and the like. The state and local governments are cracking down hard but are unlikely to continue to do so once the virus has begun to let up. Why? Because Americans are just not going to put up with it anymore, and are fortunate that it’s not the federal government they’d have to contend with.
Questions and Your thoughts:
Ok, so I’m very curious to hear from y’all about what is going on and what you see happening in the long run.
So, a few questions for you:
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If you were government, what methods would you be using to handle the coronavirus?
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What should we allow government to control and what shouldn’t we allow them to control?
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How do you believe the Trump administration is doing as they handle the crisis?
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Why do you believe the U.S. has responded so differently to the coronavirus than the swine flu?
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Do you believe Americans will put up with government control for months and months or will eventually just say no? If yes, why? If no, why?
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Finally, do you believe government is going to give up their power and control easily or will it have to be demanded of them? Can we count on Americans to demand of them if needed?
Conclusion
I’d love to hear your comments, thoughts, arguments, and reasoning below. We’re all Americans and we’re all in this together. I want to know how all Americans are feelings and responding to the current events, and find out if what I believe of Americans is true or not.
I do believe this though: Americans love liberty, and will only allow it to be suffocated for so long.
I sincerely hope this belief is not a fantasy.
The Liberty Belle