It was a perfect storm.
This virulent bat shit out of China, this covid 19, somehow found its way from animals' offal into the lungs of human beings. Contagious as it was, it took air among local people and on airline flights bound around the world.
Inevitably, it landed in the United States and followed its infectious course. It was an unknown virus, infectious and insidious--spooky. Who knew how deeply it might worm its way into the population? Given the death toll in China, Americans were alarmed.
Our journalists, always on the lookout for dramatic headlines, pounced on the story since, after all, we wanted to know, and exaggeration is a vital part of their trade. It's good for their careers.Thus headlines shouted and cable news covered the story 24/7. Disease! Contagion! Millions may die! Very bad news.
Enter the doctors, the scientists--the government experts. They could not afford to be wrong, because their jobs and reputations may depend on it. So they rolled out the worst case scenarios: Could be this, but might that. Safety first. Prepare for the worst.They couldn't be wrong.
People were dying by the tens of thousands in Europe and we were next.We had to do something!
Then came the governors. Instead of the big dictator in the White House Trump haters had always fretted about, what we got were 50 little dictators, one for each state. Most of them apparently adopted Donald Trump's television tag line: "You're fired," and tens of millions of Americans in service and retail industries were suddenly unemployed. By decree, businesses were ordered to shut their doors, and customers ordered to stay at home except for essential trips--like to liquor stores (which generate lots of government revenue).
Our civil rights were trampled left and right. Families were crippled, suddenly worried about buying food and paying the rent. As state governors pontificated endlessly on television--harvesting votes--the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, was shoved put of sight, along with freedom of assembly, speech, movement and even religion.
All in the name of safety and security, we witnessed a creeping fascism. All it needed was the spread of enforcement troops on the streets
I keep thinking of Ben Franklin"s line: "Those who choose Security over Liberty deserve neither."
National emergencies are understandable: they are theoretically temporary, but the power of emergency government is dangerous, as in Nazi Germany, 1933. U. S. National Emergency and Public Health Emergency laws are broad and vague, giving the government power over vast swathes of media, including the internet. They expire automatically in one year but are routinely renewed. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, there have been 58 National Emergencies since 1979, and 31 of them are still in effect.
Of course, each of us must take care for the safety of our neighbors and loved ones, along with ourselves, during a virus health emergency, but we should not give up our civil rights in the meantime.
Given the dictatorship of the states, it looks to be high time for a bit of civil disobedience.
Our journalists, always on the lookout for dramatic headlines, pounced on the story since, after all, we wanted to know, and exaggeration is a vital part of their trade. It's good for their careers.Thus headlines shouted and cable news covered the story 24/7. Disease! Contagion! Millions may die! Very bad news.
Enter the doctors, the scientists--the government experts. They could not afford to be wrong, because their jobs and reputations may depend on it. So they rolled out the worst case scenarios: Could be this, but might that. Safety first. Prepare for the worst.They couldn't be wrong.
People were dying by the tens of thousands in Europe and we were next.We had to do something!
Then came the governors. Instead of the big dictator in the White House Trump haters had always fretted about, what we got were 50 little dictators, one for each state. Most of them apparently adopted Donald Trump's television tag line: "You're fired," and tens of millions of Americans in service and retail industries were suddenly unemployed. By decree, businesses were ordered to shut their doors, and customers ordered to stay at home except for essential trips--like to liquor stores (which generate lots of government revenue).
Our civil rights were trampled left and right. Families were crippled, suddenly worried about buying food and paying the rent. As state governors pontificated endlessly on television--harvesting votes--the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, was shoved put of sight, along with freedom of assembly, speech, movement and even religion.
All in the name of safety and security, we witnessed a creeping fascism. All it needed was the spread of enforcement troops on the streets
I keep thinking of Ben Franklin"s line: "Those who choose Security over Liberty deserve neither."
National emergencies are understandable: they are theoretically temporary, but the power of emergency government is dangerous, as in Nazi Germany, 1933. U. S. National Emergency and Public Health Emergency laws are broad and vague, giving the government power over vast swathes of media, including the internet. They expire automatically in one year but are routinely renewed. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, there have been 58 National Emergencies since 1979, and 31 of them are still in effect.
Of course, each of us must take care for the safety of our neighbors and loved ones, along with ourselves, during a virus health emergency, but we should not give up our civil rights in the meantime.
Given the dictatorship of the states, it looks to be high time for a bit of civil disobedience.
