Article by Steve McCann in "The American Thinker":
The
United States and much of the western world, by utilizing the most
draconian of tactics, is plunging many nations into potential economic
and societal chaos as they attempt to stem the tide of the Chinese
Coronavirus. Relying on dubious and error-prone projections,
politicians and bureaucrats constitutionally or statutorily limited in
their power, are now exercising near-dictatorial authority in their
edicts, which are effectively suspending or terminating numerous
freedoms under the guise of protecting their respective nations.
All
Americans, not be just those with first-hand experience dealing with
World War II and its aftermath or living in Eastern Europe under iron
boot of the Soviet Union or escaping the Communist/socialist hellholes
of Cuba, Southeast Asia or Venezuela, should view these actions with
considerable trepidation.
When
societies lose their freedom, it is not ordinarily because autocrats or
tyrants have forcibly taken it away. It is usually the result of the
population willingly surrendering their freedom in return for protection
against an external threat. While the threat is oftentimes real, it is
invariably exaggerated.
This
is what we in the United States are experiencing. The general public
has been stampeded by the fearmongering in the media into demanding
action from the politicians at both the state and federal level. The
politicians respond and do not pause to ask whether these actions will
work -- just do something! They do not ask if the financial and societal cost to the nation is worth the unknown and perhaps nebulous return.
Any
student of history and human nature would recognize that these are the
classic symptoms of collective hysteria. Hysteria is contagious. This
nation is turning itself inside out as we, thanks to the media, are
exaggerating the threat and not stopping to ask if the cure is worse
than the disease.
In
times like these, it is to be expected that the citizenry will look to
the government for guidance and assistance. When that happens in an
environment of mass hysteria, then it is unsurprising that the state
will take on or assume new power, as that is what has been demanded of
it. This historically has been the process which leads to the rise of
authoritarianism.
Over
the past four weeks and with little or no legal basis, one state
governor has outbid another in their dramatic responses to the
Coronavirus outbreak. Invariably their actions revolve around the
curtailing of individual freedom.
Arrest
warrants are being issued for holding funeral services, fines are being
levied for not maintaining proper distance, people are being arrested
for holding gatherings of over ten people, fines and arrests are the
order of the day for re-opening a business the state deems to be
nonessential, and the national guard has been called out to enforce
state borders and lockdowns. Pastors have been arrested for holding worship services, and in New York City the mayor has threatened to permanently close
any church, synagogue or mosque that violates his lockdown order. The
Second Amendment is under assault as 12 states either have ordered or
are contemplating ordering all gun stores and retailers closed, thus depriving millions of their right
buy a gun. Neighbors and ordinary citizens, in the best tradition of
the Soviet Union and Communist China, are being encouraged to inform the authorities
if anyone they know is not adhering to state lockdown rules. Stores,
deemed essential by the state, are being told what in their inventory
they can and cannot sell.
Congress,
faced with the task of mitigating the economic plight of the citizenry,
chooses instead to expand the federal government’s power and influence
over the private sector through a massive and bloated $2.2 Trillion
spending package. Additionally, the politicians in both parties and the
media, are clamoring for President Trump to declare a nationwide
quarantine, nationalize industries, mobilize the military and in essence
declare martial law.
President
Trump, in contrast to the media’s portrayal of him, has not succumbed
to these overtures, as he is among the few political leaders in the
nation that respects the freedoms enumerated in the Constitution. But
his power over the individual state governors or Congress is limited.
The
defenders of these authoritarian tactics say that these extreme
measures are necessary in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
But is that just a fig leaf to permanently transform the society?
This
is not to say that the Coronavirus is not a serious health issue and
steps must be taken to protect the most vulnerable sector of the
population -- the elderly with significant medical conditions. The
number of people infected with the virus over the past 30 days continues
to rise as the nation has dramatically expanded testing. Of those who
have died, approximately 1.6% of total infections, we do not know how
many succumbed as the direct result of the virus or died of other
ailments, as any death with the virus present is currently being counted
as a Coronavirus fatality. The Italian evidence, for example, suggests
that only in 12% of deaths is it possible to say the Coronavirus was the main cause of death.
The
Coronavirus started in China in early December of 2019; in the
subsequent four months the virus has spread to 177 countries and more than 40,000 deaths have so far been recorded. (For updated data, click here.)
At this same juncture during the Hong Kong Flu (which had many of the
same symptoms as the Coronavirus) pandemic in 1968-69, it is estimated
that were over 350,000 fatalities globally (40,000 in the United States). Eventually, over 1 million throughout the world (100,000 in the United States) died.
In its 244-year history the United States has weathered seven of the worst pandemics
in world history without the hysteria and loss of liberty and freedom.
All indications reveal that the Coronavirus will be exponentially less
life-threatening than any of these previous pandemics.
Is
the Coronavirus pandemic serious enough to warrant putting much of the
nation’s population into house imprisonment, or wreaking the economy for
an indefinite period of time, or prohibiting worshipers from attending
their churches, synagogues or mosques, or outlawing freedom of assembly
and travel, or destroying businesses that have taken years to build up,
or saddling future generations with unfathomable debt? The nation is
choosing to plunge millions of people into depression, heart attacks,
suicide and unbelievable distress, though they are not especially
vulnerable and will only suffer mild symptoms or none at all.
This
is what a police state is like. It is a nation in which the government
can issue orders and edicts or convey preferences with no legal
authority. Yet, it appears the majority of the American people are
willing to sacrifice their freedoms and way of life in order to empower
such a potential police state in the guise of conquering a pandemic.
Governments never give up power once attained. They only seek to
normalize it and now they have in their toolbox the knowledge that the
citizenry will meekly acquiesce to any national emergency being declared
an existential crisis which requires government to unconstitutionally
impose its will on the people.