National Review
After a year of coronavirus, it’s time to restore our freedom
Coronavirus blocks should only last a few weeks, supposedly to ensure that we can increase our hospital capacity. Those of us who were skeptical about claims like that were ridiculed as unscientific, insensitive to human life or conspiracy theorists. Even so, today is the 365th day since the “two weeks to slow the spread” campaign began, and our economy continues to suffer and children are still trapped outside their classrooms. At this point, it must be obvious that it is not about science and security, but about compliance and control, and it will not stop unless we, the people, do this. On March 16, 2020, former President Donald Trump announced the start of a period of restrictions of a few weeks with the aim of slowing the spread of the coronavirus. However, history has shown us what happens when we give the government an inch of extra power. Despite the stated purpose of these restrictions, several governments – federal, state and local – took advantage of this opportunity to eviscerate livelihoods and promote a political agenda. That’s why on March 20, 2020, I wrote that Americans needed a “right date” to get back to their normal lives while taking common sense public health measures (washing their hands, sanitizing, etc.) to protect our elderly and those who are immunocompromised. Instead, we have moved from the largest economy in American history to an unemployment rate of 14.8 percent, the highest since 1948. Now, Americans are still struggling with the damage caused not only by the virus itself, but by the our disproportionate and exaggerated response to this. When the coronavirus was declared a national emergency, companies across America were forced to close their doors, with almost 170,000 closings in September, 98,000 of which were permanent. Surviving companies were forced by politicians and bureaucrats to jump over obstacles – for example, creating restaurants from sidewalks and streets and, generally, dealing with deformed business models – just to stay afloat. If only that were the extent of the damage. But human beings are not just bodies; our minds and souls also suffer from the effects of bad policies. Last spring, schools across the country closed their doors. And while corrupt teachers’ unions struggle to keep them closed, many students are staying months behind in critical areas like math and reading. It is estimated that 3 million are absent from the education system. Americans’ mental health has also suffered. From a CDC study in July, 40.9 percent of respondents reported having at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition. Eleven percent reported taking suicide seriously. And the financial price of this destruction? The federal government distributed about $ 6 trillion in response to this crisis in less than a year. For reference, this is more than the total price of our victory in World War II and almost the total national debt when I came to Washington as a Senate official in 2003. We are not just deceiving children at present, we are making them worse futures at the same time. But while so many of your fellow citizens have lost so much, career politicians and public health bureaucrats – a minor distinction, I know – have only gained popularity and prestige through the exercise of their power. For example, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the highest paid bureaucrat in the federal government, who was wrong about many aspects of the pandemic, which launched the first pitch at the beginning of the national season, was almost deified by some. And yet this week, he said that only if we “lower the level of infection” will Americans really be able to celebrate Independence Day. We can no longer tolerate fomenting fear; we know better. The Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” performed nothing short of a medical miracle in the rapid production of vaccines that have vaccinated more or partly more than 107 million Americans. Now 63.4% of all Americans aged 65 and over have already received at least one dose. COVID-19 cases have plummeted and have not shown growing trends since the beginning of January. Mortality rates continue to decline; the seven-day average death rate has fallen 60% since the beginning of January. Many COVID treatments, including hydroxychloroquine, budesonide and antibody regimens, have been shown to be effective in treating patients. Despite these positive trends, power-hungry policies continue. School unions and teachers have argued against the need to reopen schools, regardless of students’ well-being. Local authorities are still hurting businesses, forcing them to operate at reduced capacity. The CDC issued more confusing guidelines, saying that fully vaccinated people can meet without social distance or wearing masks in some locations, but not in public or while they are with certain families. On the horizon, things are about to get worse. We heard politicians and bureaucrats talking about the prospect of “vaccine passports” to restrict our travel and doubts about whether we will be allowed to celebrate Independence Day together. The absolute absurdity of these ideas against the background of the data above makes everything even more obvious: it is really about power and it will not stop unless we make it stop. A year later, and a year wiser, Americans are fed up. There are no more extensions of the “two weeks to slow the spread”. It is time for the American people to demand the return of their lives, their livelihoods and their freedoms, and start saying no to those who wish to maintain control. And it starts by moving us away from fear, planting our feet and giving a firm and unshakable “no”.