The fact that a disease that was predicted to wipe out 2 million Americans in mere months is now up for a political debate of any kind is proof positive that we’re not dealing with the apocalyptic vision the left seems to have latched onto. If 50% of America is dropping dead in the streets where they stand, yeah…that’s a problem. A disease that is snatching healthy, productive, relatively young lives by the millions is undebatable. That’s something you stop the wheels for.

What we have is a virus that is a cousin of the common cold and is survived by nearly 100% of the people who contract it. Yet the left insists on making a moral issue out of a medical issue. They scoff at, threaten, and insult people who question the efficacy of masks, the wisdom of closing schools with negligible transmission numbers, or being forced by bureaucracy to close the businesses that put food on their tables.

Just today, the liberal left all but called South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem a murderer simply because she’s following the science in her own state and governing accordingly. For them, it is complete submission to government orders or nothing. Ironically, if you don’t think your state government has the right to close your business indefinitely in a constitutional republic without due process, you’re the fascist.

Sometimes the ladies doth protest too much.

It is such a strange thing to witness masks becoming a symbol of morality. The black and white nature with which the left looks at this issue is dangerous and annoying, but it is also a sign of an alarming ignorance. The tendency to love government control when the government is doing things you approve of is shortsighted at best, a sign of rapidly declining critical thinking skills and education at worst.

Fox LA anchor Elex Michaelson asked social media what government regulations Newsom should consider to curb an obviously spiking COVID spread in California.

If @GavinNewsom goes forward with a modified “safer at home” order this week, what regulations do you think make sense? Which don’t?

Clearly cases, hospitalizations, ICU use is spiking. What, if anything, should be done about it?

— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) December 2, 2020

The answer of a reasonable and informed person is- not much.

A reasonable person understands that this virus is no common flu. A reasonable person understands that the elderly and those with co-morbidities like heart disease or diabetes are extremely vulnerable to this virus. A reasonable person believes we must take measures to protect that vulnerable population.

A reasonable person does not give the government unlimited, indefinite power over their every day lives in the name of defeating a microscopic virus. You don’t defeat viruses. That’s the suggestion of a child. You treat viruses, you educate people on viruses, you develop a herd immunity to viruses.

You don’t quarantine perfectly healthy people and tell them to grin and bear it while they lose everything.

As the opening of this piece states, there is a disturbing belief among the ill-informed that if the government doesn’t force us to do something, no one will do anything. That’s because progressive media has drawn this bizarre line in the sand – agree to shut down everything or be labeled a murderer.

You cannot make 330 million people do the same thing at the same time…another fascist progressive fantasy. If the government tells us tomorrow that we all have to wear red shirts, it’s not happening. Telling 330 million people to stop living their lives at the same time is a ridiculous suggestion, and one that governors like Noem and DeSantis understand. They understand it isn’t their job to run the lives of millions of people. It is their job to govern.

Progressives make it seem like anyone who doesn’t want the government in control of their freedom of movement and association simply don’t care about killing people. The truth is, we of course do care very much about lives…all lives.

All lives matter.

The government can and should make recommendations, invest in educating the public about risks, and may even consider modifying their own work schedules and health protocols. Then they are obligated to prepare the health sector for what may come. That’s it. Americans know how to protect themselves and have been doing it since we were first promised “30 days to slow the spread.” We’ve been doing it this whole time.

Families who scoffed at Thanksgiving bans weren’t having blowout events – well, except liberals like Cardi B and Gavin Newsom, naturally. No, most of us were still taking reasonable precautions. Many families pared down guests or encouraged elderly relatives to stay home. A few friends of mine quarantined themselves for two weeks before Thanksgiving Day so their elderly family would feel safer coming over. Some people went to get tested to provide reassurance.

This has been true all along. Businesses were taking precautions to reassure their patrons even before they were completely shuttered. That’s because in a capitalistic society, it’s best not to kill your customers. They don’t need government to force them to wash their hands or clean their stores. They do it because it’s good for business and their own safety.

The same has been happening in all sectors. I’m 46 years old. I really don’t need Gavin Newsom to tell me five times a day to wash my hands. I know how and do often. Why? Because I don’t want to get sick.

Too many people are just fine with the government telling them how much freedom they’re allowed to enjoy. America isn’t a country of 330 million idiots. We don’t need bureaucrats who ignore their own rules telling us we have to wear masks. If we feel masks make us safer, we’ll wear them. If a business requires you to wear a mask to enter, we’ll do that or go to another business. If we don’t feel safe at school, we’ll keep our kids home.

These are all decisions we are capable of making ourselves. If we give the government this kind of power during a pandemic in which nearly 100% of those afflicted will survive, where does it end?

The government you love will not always be the one in charge. It is always best to err on the side of freedom.

For everyone.