As I ventured to the store this morning to hopefully replenish our withering supply of paper products and eggs, a silent calm embraced our community. People are not out and about. People are observing the stay-at-home order and helping their fellow Americans. It’s Sunday morning and many people are sacrificing their usually worship gathering to help defeat COVID-19. Others are not taking the dogs to the park or going out for breakfast with friends. America is united against a common foe.
I arrived at the market as it opened. The small line out front migrated into the store. I grabbed my bags, affixed my facemask, sanitized my cart, said good morning to the store manager, and began my small shopping spree. I started down the paper aisle and was disappointed to find nothing but a few bundles of generic toilet paper. Grabbing for a bundle, I headed to the eggs. I was pleasantly greeted by a cooler about a third full of eggs with a sign advising “one carton per customer.” As I rounded the cooler at the end of the dairy aisle a nice gentleman wearing a breather mask waited as I passed to ensure we maintained proper social distancing.
Next, I headed to the meat coolers to grab a pack of sweet Italian sausage for our spaghetti dinner. The meat coolers were packed with chicken, pork, beef; all the various cuts. Sausage was plentiful, grabbed a pack and I headed to the canned goods. Another disappointment awaited as I found no large cans of tomato sauce. Also, scant cans of tomato paste were on the shelves. I opted for crushed tomatoes and a couple cans of generic paste. My bounty in basket I was off to the checkout line.
There seems to be no shortage of Lexan to provide a barrier between the checkers and the customers. I maintained my distance as I paid for my goods, gave a donation to the COVID-19 relief fund; the store is good about helping people in a time of need. I bagged my groceries and headed home with my treasures. Needless to say, we are trying to live our lives as normally as possible. Tammy is retired so she stays at home. I’m in an essential industry, but spend my days sequestered in my office conducting most of my daily business virtually. I’m also proud of the company I work for, actively supporting the employees to guard against the spread of the virus, supporting our small businesses suppliers that may have trouble during even brief shutdowns, and keeping everyone informed as the situation develops.
On the other hand, the point of this post is really to talk about the people who are helping and hurting America. Some are eroding our freedoms. While the president and governors have given “orders” to stay at home, while most understand why they follow this direction, many have ignored these orders. It’s important to understand that an executive order is really a euphemism for advice to do the right thing; it’s not a law. Since we don’t live in a dictatorship, our government, short of declaring martial law, can only advise us to stay at home. We are just getting to the point where some local governments have issued ordinances to self-quarantine or wear facemasks. The people who don’t abide by government direction are just begging to be forced to comply.
It’s disappointing that state and local governments have to go to this extent to make people stay at home. As many schools were observing the ritualistic “Spring break,” some people were unwilling to sacrifice their annual party-fest to help America overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions not only exemplify the immaturity of these people, but also act as a deterrent to the freedoms our founders envisioned.
With great freedom comes great responsibility. If people can control their own actions there is no reason for external control. People need to use their ability to reason to make mature decisions when faced with adversity. And while most Americans have done their part to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, some immature people are unable to control their actions. These are the people who have hoarded toilet paper, paper towels, eggs, and apparently tomato sauce. Their actions have caused external controls to be inflicted on their lives. The market has now imposed controls on purchases and governments are limiting access to parking at beaches and parks, only because some people have demonstrated they are unable to make mature decisions.
These are the actions that give legislators reasons to make decisions that limit our freedoms. Instead of demonstrating self-control, these people who decide to defy rational thinking are throwing away their liberty. Americans are not only among the people with the most rights in the world, they are also the people who must spend the most time protecting those rights. Ignorance of self-control only serves to demonstrate that a higher authority is necessary. To preserve our rights we must educate people that they need to learn how to use their ability to reason to make good decisions. They don’t need to panic hoarding toilet paper and canned goods. They need to understand how a virus is passed from person to person and why staying at home not only limits the spread of COVID-19, but also preserves their freedoms and makes America great.
Dr. T