Government Can Take Over Whenever It Wants
It doesn't have to be the federal government, either. A state government might take its lead from what's recommended on the national level, but it was the governor of each state in the U.S. that decided what would happen, when, and how much.
Larger cities have done the same thing, so even mayors have been in on the act of reducing if not completely halting the every day activities of their citizenry. Some of these officials, regardless of level, have gone to great lengths to enforce what they felt was an appropriate response, too, without need of a legislature or other governing body, and without fear of backlash, at least not the kind that would see them forced from office.
It Doesn't Even Have To Be A Big Deal
COVID-19 was sold as something more than your run of the mill illness. For some, it may well have contributed to their death. But even with numbers spiking all over the country (if not the world), as people are allowed to get back to their daily routine, numbers in many places have yet to reach any substantial stage of alarm.
Granted, larger and highly dense populations, like New York City, have seen a tremendous amount of positive test results. That shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has ever been to New York City or seen any kind of video footage of the crowded streets, or high rises that create the skyline. More people equals more infections.
However, there is a large part of the country, geographically speaking, that have not seen such astonishing numbers.
In Oregon, as of today, the count is up to 7,274 total confirmed cases. In all, 210,456 tests have been administered (I don't know how many of those might be repeats). Of those who have been tested under 3.5% either have the anti-bodies that result from any coronavirus, or actually were positively identified with COVID-19 (again, I don't know how many of which).
Oregon, though, has a total population of at least 4.19 million (2018). If we take the number of those testing positive against the general populace, total infections are just over 0.17%. Deaths have a lower percentage than that.
In the entire state of New York, 389,085 confirmed cases constitute just 2% when compared to the total population. Death percentage from 30,927 comes in just under 0.16%.
No One Even Needs To Know What They're Talking About
Certainly not the government executive officials, who are spoon fed what to say and think, but even the so-called experts don't need to know much. Computer simulations seem to rule, and depending on how the data is inputed, the resulting analysis can be all over the place. At one point, it was predicted 2 million deaths would result in the US alone thanks to COVID-19—this year. Or at least within a relatively short period of time.
According to the current rate of death, if sustained, it would take nearly two years to reach that number. Unfortunately, thanks to underlying health conditions and other factors, many if not most of these deaths are being counted as caused by COVID-19, when who knows what was actually the overriding factor.
Someone with diminished breathing capacity given three months to live might succumb earlier thanks to contracting COVID-19, but many other types of infectious disease could result in an early death, too. It's true to say that COVID-19 certainly contributed to, perhaps accelerated death, but to say COVID-19 was responsible or to count all deaths this way is a little misleading when it comes to the actual strength of the illness itself.
Even so, wearing a mask is being mandated in many areas, along with the six feet of social distancing, the smaller numbers who can gather indoors and the fact that there is still no evidence that the so-called asymptomatic carriers even exist, let alone transmit the virus to the vulnerable. Instead, there is still much "unknown" about the virus and how it acts.
Be that purposeful or otherwise.
Rights Are Constitutionally Protected, Until They're Not
Probably the most trampled on constitutional right during the last three months has been the right to peacefully assemble. Unless it's to protest a cause that someone deems worthy, than assembling can happen. Otherwise, forget it. However, more than just marching or protesting peacefully has been knocked down. No concerts, no sporting events, no weddings, funerals, birthdays, anniversaries (if they exceed the allotted number), sizable church gatherings, and up until recently, dining in, heading to the gym, or even getting a haircut.
Nothing Or No One Is Safe
Interestingly enough, these lockdown protocols hit large bastions of society that government generally props up—the entertainment industry, public and higher education, even the news and other forms of media have changed the way they conduct business and interactions. Whether or not these industries and organizations will ultimately suffer or get bailed out, is yet to be seen. Bailing out seems to be more to the federal government's liking than not, so don't be surprised if we see a bail out and more stimulus before it's all said and done.
Talking About It Doesn't Matter
Nor does refusing to wear a mask in public places where it's mandatory in an attempt to show your disdain for the order. If they want to, and in some cases they will, the government will enforce its orders. It's not like some haven't already.
What needs to be done for this not to happen again, and then again, or worse, implemented on a permanent basis, is to have all of those who are responsible on any level and in any position to simply wind up removed from those posts of influence. With elected officials, voting is how that happens. Those who replace them have to be willing to remove the entrenched and embedded bureaucracy that comes up with such procedures as closing down most of the global economy.
Until they lose their power, or someone like them doesn't take their place, using whatever reason to take over everything with just the hint of a potential blow to public safety, we will be right back where we are now, wondering how much more they plan to take away from us.
Freedom Is An Illusion, But Not For Long
There has been enough literature and movies, video games and general societal angst to warn us against what's occurring right before our eyes. That could never happen here is how it's ultimately allowed to happen. With these glimpses of dystopian futures we get, rarely is it spelled out with any detail or specificity how these horrible living conditions come to be. No, instead, too many seem hellbent on glamorizing the whole idea of teenage gladiators, or being the rebels that fight the system. Never mind all of the death and suffering and soul crushing despair that happens before, during and after.
Right now, we think we have freedoms that we really don't. As long as that communal delusion continues, so will the slow creep of infringement. Eventually, we will find ourselves without any say in our daily routine, and for a while, some of us might even wonder how that happened or how we managed to trifle our freedoms away, but for the most part, the majority of us will just go along to get along because someone, somewhere, knows better than we do about "these things", and as long as the government allows us to keep enough of our vices, we will consider that freedom enough.
One Person Making A Stand...
...only makes a difference if many, many others stand, too. Refusing to wear a mask in public is not enough. It may even be detrimental to someone's health, depending on the circumstances, which means it's counterproductive. Voting people out of power and replacing them with people who aren't interested in power, is the only peaceful way we don't see ourselves losing more of our freedoms.
There are some who would rather tear down the existing systems. Some days, I'd like to see that happen, too. Unfortunately, ruling or governing is a totally different kind of animal than rebellion or sedition. It's easier to be against something than it is to be for something. It's also hard to let so many ideas and ways of doing thing have light until the best ideas and ways of doing things take shape and prove their worth.
Too many times, impatience rules. And barring that, brute force.
Will we learn these lessons COVID-19 has given us? Probably not.
That's okay, though. For all our faults, apathy or distractions, we still have something that will save us from ourselves, despite our best efforts.
Technology.
Never mind technology is used against us every moment of every day.
Image source—Pixabay