The Triple Tragedy That Is George Floyd
The View from the Middle
I can’t be sure what the motivation was for the police officer in Minneapolis to kneel on George Floyd’s neck for over five minutes, but the reaction to the video has been anything but racist. The police officer’s actions have been universally condemned. In fact, every person that I have talked to or heard on TV have struggled to even imagine what could have possibly been going through the police officer’s mind as he listened to Mr. Floyd beg for relief and even for his very life.
Did Mr. Floyd break the law? Actually, I’m not sure yet. Did he deserve a death sentence even if he did pass a counterfeit bill? Of course not. This particular police officer’s actions were indefensible and even cruel, but what may even be more mind boggling is the reaction of eye witnesses. There were at least three other police officers who stood by and watched for several minutes as this insanity unfolded. These were not just your average citizens, but fellow law enforcement officers who, we assume, have been trained on how to peaceably take a person into custody. As I have heard from several current and past members of law enforcement, “once the handcuffs go on, and the person is face down on the ground, the game is over!”
For sure, this small group of police officers failed George Floyd and all of us, but there was a second wave of disappointment immediately apparent. As I watched the video go on and on and on (most people have described it as “difficult to watch”), it dawned on me that the person who was filming this absolutely disgusting and tragic event was also just watching George Floyd be killed. This cell phone film producer is, unfortunately, a reflection of our broader society. Our society now believes that our response to deplorable events like this is to just capture them on video. I can’t imagine watching a travesty like this transpire and thinking that my only responsibility was to memorialize the event on my cell phone. And it wasn’t just the camera wielding person! There were other spectators, and I use that word intentionally. Is this what we as a society have devolved to? Have we become observers of life instead of actual participants? Where was the hero to step in and confront this police officer? How about someone who would actually pull that officer off of George Floyd? Where are the people willing to get involved? Where are the real difference makers?
And the final layer of frustration comes from the rioters and looters that seem to inevitably take advantage of these situations. Despite George Floyd’s family and Black faith leaders encouraging peaceful protests in a search of justice and to make a comment on a broader issue, some have used this as an excuse to plunder, destroy and even kill. What does stealing a TV from Target have to do with George Floyd’s death. How does the destruction of uninvolved and often minority owned small businesses help anyone’s cause? This does not advance the case for George Floyd or for racial justice. At best it is a distraction to both and at worst it will cause a regression.
What we need right now are calmer heads with eyes on justice and progress. There are criminal and possibly even civil considerations that the Floyd family has to be addressing, and we should all be working to enable that effort. And if we really want racial harmony in this country we must condemn the actions of those police officers, the indifference of onlookers and the violence and criminality of the looters. When do the images of violence, destruction and absolute lawlessness make the bigger problem worse rather than better?
Friday, May 29, 2020
Friday, May 15, 2020
No Skin in the Game
No Skin in the Game
The View from the Middle
I have to admit that in the beginning it puzzled me as to why a majority of Americans were in favor of continuing the lockdown of our economy. As of May 1st, for example, a Rasmussen poll reported that 58% of Americans were in favor of extending these shutdowns. This number has been coming down, but it still made me scratch my head. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the answer came to me. These people have “no skin in the game”. I am quite certain that virtually 100% of that 58% are still working and receiving their paychecks. So, with that realization, the solution to this problem came to me. We need more of those people to go without their paychecks so that they can feel the actual pain of these preposterous and probably unconstitutional lockdowns.
First, all politicians should not be paid. For sure I’m talking about the federal government. Not only are these people not essential, I would classify them as “detrimental”. All of our Representatives and Senators should not be paid as long as there is an economic shutdown or restriction of our economy anywhere in America. Actually, I can’t believe that our Congress people have the hutzpah to cash their checks during this crisis, but then again, they are so out of touch maybe it shouldn’t surprise me. But these people are all so rich they might not even miss a paycheck or two. That’s why we would have to include all of their staff people in Washington and in their home states. These, more common people, would miss their monthly paychecks and they will remind their Congress person of the pain that much of America is living through. And this pay loss should not be a fake wage loss subject to backpay reimbursements later, like the government shutdown pretend pay cuts. This should be real lost money.
But, you say, that’s not enough people to swing these opinion polls in the other direction, and you’re right. That’s why this PEP (pay elimination plan) should also apply to state a local government officials. Why should the bad witch of the north, governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, be cashing her checks while she inflicts draconian restrictions on her citizens. And, of course, it can’t just be the governors and the mayors and even the legislators in those states, but it should be their staffs. This will add critical mass to the number of Americans reeling from this crisis and will definitely move the needle in the direction of opening up our country’s economy.
But we can’t just stop with our politicians. This paycheck elimination program has to extend to the media which I also have a hard time calling “essential”. I would classify them as “destructive”. I suppose they could still do their shows, but it would be better if they just played old news programs from better times like ESPN does. Maybe they could show some Ronald Reagan highlight clips. By the way, have you noticed that none of them have ever worn any masks despite the fact that they are surrounded by cameramen and other studio staff. Even those who are shooting from their homes have camera and lighting and sound people there to allow them to pull it off. And yet they sit there and tell us that we should be wearing masks. Hypocrites!! Of course, the cameramen and lighting people, etc. would lose their jobs too.
Finally, why should Walmart be allowed to pack people into their stores like sardines while the local “mom and pop” clothing store or bookstore or nail salon, who would be lucky to have 10 people at a time in their stores, have to shut down? I’m not against Walmart (I live in Arkansas), I’m just against hypocrisy. I would classify Walmart’s provision of food as essential, but they should not be selling clothes, electronics, hardware, etc. if any state is banning any small business from doing the same. The stores would be open for the real essentials, but Walmart would have to lay off millions of people who stock and manage those “nonessential” categories. Add in Target, Sam’s, Costco, (you name the retailer) and that would put a lot of skin in the game.
Finally, we have to stop giving people a raise for not working. In the short-term I was OK with beefing up the unemployment pay for those people who were going to be forced out of work, but once we open up the economy we have to eliminate this perverse incentive not to work. That program, which is part of the CARES act, can actually pay people more on unemployment than they were making at work. It ends in June and it should not be extended. It will not be needed. There will be plenty of jobs openings.
What do you think would happen to the number of people who want to extend the lockdown once all of these people were added to the unemployment lines? Lightbulbs would be going on all over America and that number would plummet. It’s amazing how attitudes change once people actually have “skin in the game!”
The View from the Middle
I have to admit that in the beginning it puzzled me as to why a majority of Americans were in favor of continuing the lockdown of our economy. As of May 1st, for example, a Rasmussen poll reported that 58% of Americans were in favor of extending these shutdowns. This number has been coming down, but it still made me scratch my head. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the answer came to me. These people have “no skin in the game”. I am quite certain that virtually 100% of that 58% are still working and receiving their paychecks. So, with that realization, the solution to this problem came to me. We need more of those people to go without their paychecks so that they can feel the actual pain of these preposterous and probably unconstitutional lockdowns.
First, all politicians should not be paid. For sure I’m talking about the federal government. Not only are these people not essential, I would classify them as “detrimental”. All of our Representatives and Senators should not be paid as long as there is an economic shutdown or restriction of our economy anywhere in America. Actually, I can’t believe that our Congress people have the hutzpah to cash their checks during this crisis, but then again, they are so out of touch maybe it shouldn’t surprise me. But these people are all so rich they might not even miss a paycheck or two. That’s why we would have to include all of their staff people in Washington and in their home states. These, more common people, would miss their monthly paychecks and they will remind their Congress person of the pain that much of America is living through. And this pay loss should not be a fake wage loss subject to backpay reimbursements later, like the government shutdown pretend pay cuts. This should be real lost money.
But, you say, that’s not enough people to swing these opinion polls in the other direction, and you’re right. That’s why this PEP (pay elimination plan) should also apply to state a local government officials. Why should the bad witch of the north, governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, be cashing her checks while she inflicts draconian restrictions on her citizens. And, of course, it can’t just be the governors and the mayors and even the legislators in those states, but it should be their staffs. This will add critical mass to the number of Americans reeling from this crisis and will definitely move the needle in the direction of opening up our country’s economy.
But we can’t just stop with our politicians. This paycheck elimination program has to extend to the media which I also have a hard time calling “essential”. I would classify them as “destructive”. I suppose they could still do their shows, but it would be better if they just played old news programs from better times like ESPN does. Maybe they could show some Ronald Reagan highlight clips. By the way, have you noticed that none of them have ever worn any masks despite the fact that they are surrounded by cameramen and other studio staff. Even those who are shooting from their homes have camera and lighting and sound people there to allow them to pull it off. And yet they sit there and tell us that we should be wearing masks. Hypocrites!! Of course, the cameramen and lighting people, etc. would lose their jobs too.
Finally, why should Walmart be allowed to pack people into their stores like sardines while the local “mom and pop” clothing store or bookstore or nail salon, who would be lucky to have 10 people at a time in their stores, have to shut down? I’m not against Walmart (I live in Arkansas), I’m just against hypocrisy. I would classify Walmart’s provision of food as essential, but they should not be selling clothes, electronics, hardware, etc. if any state is banning any small business from doing the same. The stores would be open for the real essentials, but Walmart would have to lay off millions of people who stock and manage those “nonessential” categories. Add in Target, Sam’s, Costco, (you name the retailer) and that would put a lot of skin in the game.
Finally, we have to stop giving people a raise for not working. In the short-term I was OK with beefing up the unemployment pay for those people who were going to be forced out of work, but once we open up the economy we have to eliminate this perverse incentive not to work. That program, which is part of the CARES act, can actually pay people more on unemployment than they were making at work. It ends in June and it should not be extended. It will not be needed. There will be plenty of jobs openings.
What do you think would happen to the number of people who want to extend the lockdown once all of these people were added to the unemployment lines? Lightbulbs would be going on all over America and that number would plummet. It’s amazing how attitudes change once people actually have “skin in the game!”
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
The Doctor is in the VFM House
The Doctor is in the VFM House!
The View from the Middle
I’ve shared with you before that a brilliant doctor who just happens to be a friend of mine is also a faithful reader of The View From the Middle. He occasionally calls me with comments on my articles, especially those that have any kind of healthcare theme. He recently called me about my coverage of the Coronavirus and we talked at length about almost every aspect of this virus. I was amazed at how much we agreed on, but he also had one warning that he asked me to convey.
He agreed with my statement that no matter whose numbers you believe, 99.9% of America with survive this virus. Many, in fact, will have mild symptoms and a large number (we don’t know how many yet for obvious reasons) will be asymptomatic or display no symptoms at all. The fact that many will exhibit mild to no symptoms is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is obvious, but the curse is that these asymptomatic people can transmit this virus to a more vulnerable portion of the population, and that was his biggest concern.
The difference in the projected mortality rate for the Covid-19 has been absolutely amazing. In the beginning, Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that the overall mortality rate for this disease was one percent, which also meant that 99% of those infected would survive. Recently that mortality rate has been lowered to 0.1% to 0.5%, depending on which expert you listen to. There are, however, groups of people who are at a much higher risk from this virus.
At first look, it appears that the higher mortality rate is driven by age. The death rate, for example, for people over 80 years old who contract this disease is almost 15% according New York City Health. For people between 70 and 79 it is 8.0% and for those between 60 and 69 it falls to 3.6%, which is still a pretty big number especially when I consider that I’m in that group.
But when you dig a little deeper, it is underlying health issues that lead to this increased death rate. In this same study, it was demonstrated that a healthy person that was 75 years old or older had the same likelihood of dying as a person between 18 and 44 years of age. The underlying conditions that this survey listed were cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic reparatory issues like asthma, hypertension and cancer. A 75-year-old without any of these pre-existing conditions, however, is almost as rare as a unicorn.
My good friend the doctor’s point is a good one. This virus is about twice as contagious as the seasonal flu and for people with underlying health issues it is much more likely to be fatal. With that in mind, many of the mitigation actions that we are taking like washing our hands more often, cleaning commonly used surfaces and social distancing are a small price to pay to protect this more vulnerable slice of our society. My friend even suggested that wearing a mask is worth the inconvenience, and he suggested this knowing that I am not a big mask wearer. I guess I’m going to have to rethink that stance.
He did agree, however, that we also need to open up our economy. As President Trump said, “the cure cannot be worse than the disease” and there will come a time when the financial, emotional and even physical damages to our people from our lockdown will exceed those of the Coronavirus. We must open up this country to save our small business owners and workers, but we must do so with an eye on protecting the most vulnerable in our country. We can do both things at the same time, and in fact, we MUST!
The View from the Middle
I’ve shared with you before that a brilliant doctor who just happens to be a friend of mine is also a faithful reader of The View From the Middle. He occasionally calls me with comments on my articles, especially those that have any kind of healthcare theme. He recently called me about my coverage of the Coronavirus and we talked at length about almost every aspect of this virus. I was amazed at how much we agreed on, but he also had one warning that he asked me to convey.
He agreed with my statement that no matter whose numbers you believe, 99.9% of America with survive this virus. Many, in fact, will have mild symptoms and a large number (we don’t know how many yet for obvious reasons) will be asymptomatic or display no symptoms at all. The fact that many will exhibit mild to no symptoms is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is obvious, but the curse is that these asymptomatic people can transmit this virus to a more vulnerable portion of the population, and that was his biggest concern.
The difference in the projected mortality rate for the Covid-19 has been absolutely amazing. In the beginning, Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that the overall mortality rate for this disease was one percent, which also meant that 99% of those infected would survive. Recently that mortality rate has been lowered to 0.1% to 0.5%, depending on which expert you listen to. There are, however, groups of people who are at a much higher risk from this virus.
At first look, it appears that the higher mortality rate is driven by age. The death rate, for example, for people over 80 years old who contract this disease is almost 15% according New York City Health. For people between 70 and 79 it is 8.0% and for those between 60 and 69 it falls to 3.6%, which is still a pretty big number especially when I consider that I’m in that group.
But when you dig a little deeper, it is underlying health issues that lead to this increased death rate. In this same study, it was demonstrated that a healthy person that was 75 years old or older had the same likelihood of dying as a person between 18 and 44 years of age. The underlying conditions that this survey listed were cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic reparatory issues like asthma, hypertension and cancer. A 75-year-old without any of these pre-existing conditions, however, is almost as rare as a unicorn.
My good friend the doctor’s point is a good one. This virus is about twice as contagious as the seasonal flu and for people with underlying health issues it is much more likely to be fatal. With that in mind, many of the mitigation actions that we are taking like washing our hands more often, cleaning commonly used surfaces and social distancing are a small price to pay to protect this more vulnerable slice of our society. My friend even suggested that wearing a mask is worth the inconvenience, and he suggested this knowing that I am not a big mask wearer. I guess I’m going to have to rethink that stance.
He did agree, however, that we also need to open up our economy. As President Trump said, “the cure cannot be worse than the disease” and there will come a time when the financial, emotional and even physical damages to our people from our lockdown will exceed those of the Coronavirus. We must open up this country to save our small business owners and workers, but we must do so with an eye on protecting the most vulnerable in our country. We can do both things at the same time, and in fact, we MUST!
Friday, May 1, 2020
The Weaponization of Fear
The Weaponization of Fear
The View from the Middle
In his 1932 inaugural speech, Franklin Delano Roosevelt uttered one of the most famous lines of his Presidency as he began to rally the country to come out of the Great Depression. He told the country that, “the only think we have to fear is – fear itself”. While FDR was not a perfect man, I could argue that he was a master at persuading people to rally around a cause and to put trust in him. He did, after all, guide us out of a depression, manage the successful US campaign during World War II and win four Presidential elections. In this first inaugural he was telling the country not to be paralyzed by fear and not allow it to keep the country from making progress. He was motivating the people of America. He knew the negative power of fear and wanted everyone focused on the bright future that he was promising.
What he was revealing was that fear can be a powerful tool to manipulate people, and some people today have used it in its most malicious form. The fear mongering always starts out the same way. They tell you to blindly “believe” the experts / scientists. That sounds reasonable, right? They are “experts” after all. They are scientists. They must be smart and know exactly what they're talking about. Then the scientists make predictions that scare the hell out of everyone, but it ends up that the experts are wrong.
Back in March, a study by Imperial College scientists in Britain predicted that the Coronavirus would kill over two million people in the United States and over 500,000 people in England would die. Of course, that forecast ended up being off by a factor of 20, but the scare tactic worked and the American people were immediately frightened to death. Even as that projection slowly got dialed back to 250,000 dead in the US and then finally to 70,000 (which is less deaths than the seasonal flu delivered just two years ago), the paranoia was already set in place. And today the media is vested in the panic of all Americans, so they have to sell the death toll. The newest shock tactic is to compare the current death toll to the deaths from the Vietnam War. While that is clever, it is grossly misleading. The media should compare the current death toll to the seasonal flu last year or the year before (56,000 last year and 80,000 the year before), but that wouldn’t serve their purpose which was to terrify the American people.
Then we had the esteemed Dr. Anthony Fauci come out and tell us that the Coronavirus was ten times deadlier than the seasonal flu. Wow, that sounds awful and scary! Of course, Dr. Fauci never told the other side of that equation, which is that even with this inflated mortality projection it meant that 99% of the people who would be infected by this virus would survive. And today, virologists are discovering that millions of people who contracted this virus showed little to no symptoms and didn’t even know they had it. This new information has the “experts” suggesting that the mortality rate for the Coronavirus might be closer to 0.1%, or the same as the seasonal flu. Now, let’s consider something. If these “experts” and “scientists” had emphasized that the mortality rate was that low and that this meant that 99.9% of the people who were infected would indeed recover and not die, would we have had such a draconian response?
After all of this misinformation, we have fanatic and unscrupulous politicians trying to use this crisis to advance their ideological agenda’s. Just yesterday, Hillary Clinton once again admitted to the Democrat Party’s disgusting, cruel and even extortionistic strategy when she said, “this would be a terrible crisis to waste.” They will use this crisis to add totally unrelated programs to bills designed to address the hardship being experienced by the American people. For example, what does “a universal guaranteed income” have to do with fighting this virus? What do oppressive regulations for airline fuel mileage have to do with this virus? What does funding for Planned Parenthood have to do with the Coronavirus recovery plan? You’re right, nothing! Yet, Democrats will attach these unconnected spending packages and regulations to bills that are desperately needed by the American people. THAT is what they mean by not letting a terrible crisis go to waste. They plan to use that crisis for their own ends.
But haven’t I seen this play before? Oh yah – Climate Change (or global warming or whatever). The experts / scientists make horrifying predictions like “the polar ice caps will be gone by 2010” or “New York will be underwater by 2013” or we have 10 years to get totally out of fossil fuels or our world will become uninhabitable. Obviously, these predictions were wrong, but climate change extremists will never admit it. They just move the goal posts. Now they say that if we don’t change everything right now, the world will be uninhabitable in 100 years, when they will all conveniently be dead. My motto is, “If anyone tells you that they know what is going to happen in 100 years, they are lying.”
Yes, these expert scientists have managed to scare the hell out of many, including teen environmentalist, Greta Thunberg and her entire generation. That’s not difficult, since Greta is only 15 years old and I’m sure doesn’t understand in the least the intricacies that drive our climate. I would actually consider what they have done to Greta as child abuse. What they haven’t told Greta is that the experts have been wrong in virtually ALL of their predictions. The Polar Ice Caps as well as the polar bears are still here. New York is still above sea level and there aren’t millions of climate change refugees wandering around Europe and the United States starving due to droughts and crop failures.
The lesson for all of us is that we should be skeptical when politicians ask us to give up our rights, our property or our money for promises to save us from “whatever”. Look at what our government has done in the face of a virus as threatening as the seasonal flu. They have shut down our economy. They put millions of people out of work. They forced millions of businesses to close their doors, some of which will never reopen, and of course they spent / borrowed trillions of dollars that will just be added to the debt that our children and grandchildren will inherit from us. What a legacy.
Our country was built on God given freedoms and personal responsibility. We should never give those up for any reason. Viruses will come and go. Natural disasters will shake us to our core. Politicians will promise us free everything. They will promise no more sickness or death and no racial, gender, religious or income divides. But with each promise they will ask for a little bit more of your rights, your money and your freedom until you have nothing left and totally depend on them. Don’t believe them. Stick with the original contract that has made America the greatest country on earth! Freedom with personal responsibility. They can suggest how they think I should respond to the Coronavirus. I'll take it from there.
The View from the Middle
In his 1932 inaugural speech, Franklin Delano Roosevelt uttered one of the most famous lines of his Presidency as he began to rally the country to come out of the Great Depression. He told the country that, “the only think we have to fear is – fear itself”. While FDR was not a perfect man, I could argue that he was a master at persuading people to rally around a cause and to put trust in him. He did, after all, guide us out of a depression, manage the successful US campaign during World War II and win four Presidential elections. In this first inaugural he was telling the country not to be paralyzed by fear and not allow it to keep the country from making progress. He was motivating the people of America. He knew the negative power of fear and wanted everyone focused on the bright future that he was promising.
What he was revealing was that fear can be a powerful tool to manipulate people, and some people today have used it in its most malicious form. The fear mongering always starts out the same way. They tell you to blindly “believe” the experts / scientists. That sounds reasonable, right? They are “experts” after all. They are scientists. They must be smart and know exactly what they're talking about. Then the scientists make predictions that scare the hell out of everyone, but it ends up that the experts are wrong.
Back in March, a study by Imperial College scientists in Britain predicted that the Coronavirus would kill over two million people in the United States and over 500,000 people in England would die. Of course, that forecast ended up being off by a factor of 20, but the scare tactic worked and the American people were immediately frightened to death. Even as that projection slowly got dialed back to 250,000 dead in the US and then finally to 70,000 (which is less deaths than the seasonal flu delivered just two years ago), the paranoia was already set in place. And today the media is vested in the panic of all Americans, so they have to sell the death toll. The newest shock tactic is to compare the current death toll to the deaths from the Vietnam War. While that is clever, it is grossly misleading. The media should compare the current death toll to the seasonal flu last year or the year before (56,000 last year and 80,000 the year before), but that wouldn’t serve their purpose which was to terrify the American people.
Then we had the esteemed Dr. Anthony Fauci come out and tell us that the Coronavirus was ten times deadlier than the seasonal flu. Wow, that sounds awful and scary! Of course, Dr. Fauci never told the other side of that equation, which is that even with this inflated mortality projection it meant that 99% of the people who would be infected by this virus would survive. And today, virologists are discovering that millions of people who contracted this virus showed little to no symptoms and didn’t even know they had it. This new information has the “experts” suggesting that the mortality rate for the Coronavirus might be closer to 0.1%, or the same as the seasonal flu. Now, let’s consider something. If these “experts” and “scientists” had emphasized that the mortality rate was that low and that this meant that 99.9% of the people who were infected would indeed recover and not die, would we have had such a draconian response?
After all of this misinformation, we have fanatic and unscrupulous politicians trying to use this crisis to advance their ideological agenda’s. Just yesterday, Hillary Clinton once again admitted to the Democrat Party’s disgusting, cruel and even extortionistic strategy when she said, “this would be a terrible crisis to waste.” They will use this crisis to add totally unrelated programs to bills designed to address the hardship being experienced by the American people. For example, what does “a universal guaranteed income” have to do with fighting this virus? What do oppressive regulations for airline fuel mileage have to do with this virus? What does funding for Planned Parenthood have to do with the Coronavirus recovery plan? You’re right, nothing! Yet, Democrats will attach these unconnected spending packages and regulations to bills that are desperately needed by the American people. THAT is what they mean by not letting a terrible crisis go to waste. They plan to use that crisis for their own ends.
But haven’t I seen this play before? Oh yah – Climate Change (or global warming or whatever). The experts / scientists make horrifying predictions like “the polar ice caps will be gone by 2010” or “New York will be underwater by 2013” or we have 10 years to get totally out of fossil fuels or our world will become uninhabitable. Obviously, these predictions were wrong, but climate change extremists will never admit it. They just move the goal posts. Now they say that if we don’t change everything right now, the world will be uninhabitable in 100 years, when they will all conveniently be dead. My motto is, “If anyone tells you that they know what is going to happen in 100 years, they are lying.”
Yes, these expert scientists have managed to scare the hell out of many, including teen environmentalist, Greta Thunberg and her entire generation. That’s not difficult, since Greta is only 15 years old and I’m sure doesn’t understand in the least the intricacies that drive our climate. I would actually consider what they have done to Greta as child abuse. What they haven’t told Greta is that the experts have been wrong in virtually ALL of their predictions. The Polar Ice Caps as well as the polar bears are still here. New York is still above sea level and there aren’t millions of climate change refugees wandering around Europe and the United States starving due to droughts and crop failures.
The lesson for all of us is that we should be skeptical when politicians ask us to give up our rights, our property or our money for promises to save us from “whatever”. Look at what our government has done in the face of a virus as threatening as the seasonal flu. They have shut down our economy. They put millions of people out of work. They forced millions of businesses to close their doors, some of which will never reopen, and of course they spent / borrowed trillions of dollars that will just be added to the debt that our children and grandchildren will inherit from us. What a legacy.
Our country was built on God given freedoms and personal responsibility. We should never give those up for any reason. Viruses will come and go. Natural disasters will shake us to our core. Politicians will promise us free everything. They will promise no more sickness or death and no racial, gender, religious or income divides. But with each promise they will ask for a little bit more of your rights, your money and your freedom until you have nothing left and totally depend on them. Don’t believe them. Stick with the original contract that has made America the greatest country on earth! Freedom with personal responsibility. They can suggest how they think I should respond to the Coronavirus. I'll take it from there.
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