Lessons derived from America’s reaction to Covid-19 beg to be aired. They are wrenching, enlightening, disturbing. Sadly, few will be.
Why? We are in a collective denial, if not a mass-stupor. We don’t learn from history, even recent history. Are we really going to analyze something that might impeach our actions or, better said, our lack of them?
The societal cost of this shutdown, I would submit, is exponentially more costly than the disease itself. If one doesn’t realize this, today, then he or she is part of the problem and will aid and abet a catastrophe yet to be appear.
Sure, some made strides, enjoyed their paid time off, found ways to take advantage or found solace during the pandemic. A handful of successful exceptions, however, do not mitigate horrendous damage inflicted upon ourselves.
Instead of learning and making course-corrections for future emergencies, we continue to censure, suppress data and maintain a, “we had no choice,” posture. Willful blindness and a societal reluctance to query do not contribute much to learning. It’s in reverse. We exacerbate the likelihood of exponentially greater damage.
The last three years could be considered a stress test for our nation. How did we do? Did we pass?
Here are the Jeff Utsch takeaways:
- Americans can be compassionate and are primarily emotion-driven
- We are ignorant about the Constitution, the proper role of government, Federalism, and limits to emergency powers
- We are ignorant to our own history
- We do not understand precedent, and the new precedents set by our pandemic responses
- We no longer err on the side of liberty. It is relegated to low position in our priority of principles
- We are governed by fear and our highest priority is now safety
- We are easily manipulated by media. Ditto by government
- We are lazy with our research. We are prone to group-think
- We are happy when government gives us money and don’t think of the consequences
- We are extremely near sighted
- We can’t admit when we are wrong even when the evidence is overwhelming
- We are unrepentant of those mistakes and prone to repeat them
- We say, “our children come first,” but they do not. Even when we knew Covid-19 wasn’t killing our children, we doubled down on proving we were right rather than the right thing for them
- Teachers’ unions do NOT have our children’s interest as their top priority
- We can no longer govern ourselves but look to government to tell us what to do
- We never stop to do a cost-benefit analysis to consider consequences to actions. We were, and are narrowly focused
- We do not make course corrections or have honest debates to ascertain if a path is correct. Those questioning the path are vilified and canceled
- The “Following the Science” mantra can be used to manipulate and deceive
- Government lies to us and we should know that, by now
- We get more of what we incentivize. If we pay hospitals extra money for COVID deaths, there will be more reported COVID deaths
- We are fine shaming others who don’t think like us and with coercing them to do our bidding
- Peer pressure applied to doing what is right for the “common good,” can and will be abused at all levels
- We continue to prolong and exacerbate our mistakes by not changing course even when it is evident to any truth-seeker that our path was wrong. Pride cometh before the fall
- Too many are happy to receive a free check and all too willing to go along because of selfish interests, laziness, or deceiving themselves into believing they were doing the “right thing”
- We think printing money and stopping production makes no difference in our economy
- We have high tolerance for others’ pain but not ours. It’s ok if the other guy get’s hurt as long as it’s not me
- Our churches, with few exceptions, show their membership that “Faith over Fear” is just a theory, not an actual practice to be implemented. Attending church isn’t THAT important…safety trumps religious freedom, just as our Pilgrim ancestors taught (right!) and the state can tell churches and religious leaders when they can meet and how many can congregate, just as the Constitution says
- We have no problem stealing our children’s birthright by not only declining them an education but by expanding our spending and putting it on a credit card that these very children will have to pay off. We love them so much, in fact, that we are happy to saddle them with a debt that will stifle their ability to reach their potential
- We want censorship. If others don’t agree with the “TRUE” narrative, shut them down, as they are dangerous
- We speak loudly about virtues, but in reality, we are not who we profess, we don’t take long enough to look in the mirror out of fear we might see something other than whom we pretend to be
We are no longer citizens but colonists as our priority of principles is no longer “Liberty or Death” but “Servitude and Safety.”
We fought a Revolutionary War under the motto of “No Taxation Without Representation” and where are we now?
That motto didn’t just insinuate taxation but that we as Citizens of England had rights to govern ourselves and not have edicts mandated upon us by an executive at any level without due representation at a legislative level. We risked all to make sure we achieved just that.
As to Covid-19:
How many of us demanded that action be taken? How many states convened their legislatures to approve of or curtail executive action and overreach? Few, and the ones who did were way too late in the game. Sad, but the truth hurts.
We are no longer citizens with the sovereign power vested in us as our sacred Declaration declares. We have sold our birthright for a bowl of pottage of a spurious safety and security. “Is life so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?” Apparently, for us, it is.
Yes, this is who we have become.
Did we pass the test?
It takes a certain chutzpah to even ask. No. We failed miserably.
We adopted China’s top-down, heavy-handed approach instead of erring on the side of liberty.
Even if one says we needed to have a heavy hand at fist from a top-down approach why did we not make quick adjustments? And should we not all have learned, in advance, our media and government exacerbate and exaggerate.
We should learn from this Covid-19 scorecard, but I’m not optimistic.
Until we do, we are back to being Colonists. The Crown is back in charge.
Who can decide when we want to become citizens again?
We the People.
Jeff Utsch is a Senior Faculty Lead Instructor at the Leadership and Freedom Center in Gettysburg, PA. and Head Swim Instructor at Streamlined Performance