Monday, April 27, 2020

Moving on from Coronavirus | Choosing Freedom, Not Fear

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Perhaps you are wondering, how can we move on from the coronavirus when it's still here? Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has emphasized that though the state's economy will begin to open back up this Friday, May 1, the danger of contracting the Wuhan virus is no less great. We must continue to use good, common sense, practice social distancing, and wear face masks. (One caveat to that, though. If you wear eyeglasses, they will fog up when wearing a face mask. I am personally not going around blind.)

As a person who has pre-existing health conditions that put me at higher risk, and for the good of others, I'm certainly not going to throw caution to the wind. At the same time, I want my life back, and a return to some semblance of normalcy is imperative to the health and well-being of all concerned. 

Everywhere around the USA, we've seen examples of purely arbitrary and often tyrannical mandates from government officials; responses from law enforcement personnel that are abusive and unnecessary in the extreme; purely subjective declarations of what are "essential" businesses, products, and activities, and which are not; and a host of violations of constitutional rights. The cure shouldn't be worse than the disease, and it ought not result in suffering and death that is out of proportion to the threat of the virus. But that's exactly where we are at.

Most of us were willing, at first, to obey shelter-at-home mandates and to take COVID-19 seriously, and I believe it's still incumbent upon us to make the best decisions we can with the information we have, and to proceed with due caution. Yet I think it's time for each person, each family, and each business and institution to make their own decisions, to seize back our rights and liberty, even at the expense of legal or personal retribution. 

As far as I'm concerned, no one has the right to tell you, for example, how many people you can have visiting in your own home, or how long you are allowed to be out-of-doors; or to be able to arrest you for taking your kids to the park, or for having church services or any other gatherings, as long as common sense precautions are taken. The draconian times must end. One step I'm personally going to take is to write the bishop of my diocese and implore him to reinstate public Masses and the reception of the sacraments. 

People feel powerless right now, and fearful, and we are being taken advantage of by those who would wish to reshape the country as a socialist regime, and one which is specifically hostile to those of the Christian Faith. It's really NOT about your health. 

In any situation, the place where we do have power is over ourselves. We can choose to not live in fear. We can choose to be brave. We can choose freedom. We can keep up high standards for hygiene and cleanliness, which we all should have had in the first place. We can decide what to let into our lives--what we read and listen to. If we have access to safe drinking water and healthy foods (which some do not, as a direct result of the poverty induced by the government shutdowns); if we go outside, mandates be damned, and get sunshine, fresh air, and exercise; if we begin to think for ourselves and act accordingly--then we will have made a good start to taking our lives back. This country was founded on a rebellion against tyrrany. Where there is injustice, by God, rebel! The virus may be here for a long time to come, but I, for one, am moving on. 



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