Earlier this summer, I noted that the libertarian movement has taken some steps backward in their maturity level.
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/07/libertarians-maturity-in-2021.html
That blog post barely scratched the surface when it comes to the major issue of our time: the coronavirus crisis.
I admit, when the coronavirus crisis started, I thought the world was over-reacting. I mean, we've been through the news cycles surrounding SARS, H1N1, Zika, Ebola. I thought "here we go again, it will just fade away like those other viruses".
But this was the real deal. This virus spread faster than the other viruses, and it had some serious side effects, including lung damage and even death. Yes, some people came out OK, but not everybody is those "some people". People who were skeptics of the seriousness of the coronavirus and didn't wear masks nor practiced social distancing learned the very hard way how dangerous the virus was! Herman Cain was the most famous example.
At some point, when the reality around you changes, you have to adjust accordingly. You can't be so married to an ideology that you refuse to divorce yourself from the ideology when it has been proven wrong in a very public way. You have to adjust to reality and admit that some of your beliefs don't always apply to every situation.
During the first shutdown, I adjusted accordingly by starting to wear the surgical masks, avoid gathering in groups, and practicing social distancing.
When things opened up briefly during the summer of 2020, I noticed others were wearing plastic shields at the YMCA while working out. I ordered some with the intent of using them instead of the masks. By the time they arrived in the mail, the YMCA changed their policies that if you're going to wear the shield, you also need to have the mask on. I did just that everywhere.
The mask is mostly to protect others from the contagious germs you're carrying around. The shield is to block other people's contagious germs from getting into your respiratory system.
Are a mask and shield perfect forms of protection? Nothing is perfect, but it's better than not being protected at all. After all, seat belts save lives even if they didn't save everyone.
Going back to the summer of 2020, when things briefly opened up, everyone acted like the pandemic was over. Case numbers went up. Things had to shut down again.
The vaccines became available to the public in the spring of 2021.
Nobody promised that the vaccine offered 100% protection. The vaccine was meant to train your body's immune system in case it comes across the real coronavirus. The intention of the vaccine is that in case you catch the virus, your body doesn't experience the same level of illness that an unvaccinated person has experienced.
But even with those limitations, most people got vaccinated as soon as they could.
It looked like victory was here! The feeling was we can get back to normal.
However, some people wanted to go back to the old normal without making the adjustments needed to make the old normal possible again.
Some people refuse to get vaccinated, refuse to wear masks, and want to continue gathering in large groups as if the pandemic has never happened.
And because of those fools, the coronavirus is able to continue its spread and has mutated into a more powerful delta variant that is more contagious and more dangerous.
The hospitals are filling up with new coronavirus patients, and the overwhelming majority of them are unvaccinated.
That enough should be a wake-up call that it might be a good idea to get vaccinated.
But people reacted to mere suggestions to get vaccinated as an infringement on their liberty.
They threw hissy fits at businesses requiring customers to wear their masks.
And this is where much of the libertarian movement (especially the paleo-libertarians) lose their credibility with me.
Look, I prefer a less intrusive government. I believe in legalizing a whole bunch of consensual activities. I think we should de-escalate much of our law enforcement. I think a government that governs least tends to govern best.
But I also believe in a government that offers some level of protection to the people.
In the case of the coronavirus, it's not its dangerousness, it's the contagiousness.
I could eat junk food all day, I'm just hurting myself if I do. I don't spread my fatness (and a risk of diabetes, heart problems, and stroke) by breathing toward a nearby person.
But if I get the coronavirus, I would spread it toward anyone who is breathing near me.
And even worse, some of those people who could be nearby could either have a weak immune system or live with someone who does.
And even someone who looks fit & healthy could get the worst side effects of the coronavirus.
And the hospitals only have a limited amount of space to take care of infected patients.
Do you think hospitals have enough to take care of the majority of the population at any single time? HELL NO!
Hospitals don't even have enough resources to even take care of 5% of the population at a single time.
Hospitals have to ration resources when there is a high infection rate. This happened in India recently where millions live in crowded conditions and there aren't enough vaccines to go around. This happened in Italy in the early stages of the coronavirus crisis in the spring of 2020.
In cases like these, it is legitimate for the government to step in to reduce the spread of the virus.
It is legitimate for the government to require masks and to reduce the carrying capacity of businesses.
It is legitimate for the government to temporarily shut down places notorious for crowds like bars, clubs & events.
And anyone who knows me from before the pandemic would damn well know that I love nightclubs & other events. I love festivities.
But I also love not being put in a position to catch extremely dangerous & contagious viruses.
Nightclubs are the one place where people go to do the exact opposite of social distancing. A major goal for most people there is to find someone who would let them bump & grind together. Sound like fun until too many people are getting a dangerous & contagious virus in that setting.
These shutdowns are supposed to be temporary.
For those throwing hissy fits claiming these shutdowns would lead to tyranny, that has proven wrong when local governments ease the strictness of the shutdowns when the covid case numbers go down. In fact, in Hawaii, they were ready to get rid of the restrictions when the vaccination rates were going up.
But every time restrictions get less strict, the ratlickers (those who refuse to vaccinate, wear masks, and avoid crowds) start to gather in large groups like the pandemic hasn't happened. And the covid cases goes up again.
Because of these ratlickers, Hawaii's state and county governments are now requiring employees to either get vaccinated to get tested weekly.
And yet the ratlickers and much of the libertarian movement (especially the paleo-libertarians) are throwing hissy fits and complaining about tyranny.
Nevermind that we are still having it much easier than those who were living in Hawaii during WW2 when martial law was enacted. All lights had to be turned off at night, and people had to carry gas masks everywhere they go. Those who even looked Japanese were treated with suspicion. Those who practiced traditional Japanese customs were treated with extra suspicion. People living with the current coronavirus restrictions have it much easier in comparison.
Some people refuse to believe the news reports of the coronavirus crisis because much of the mainstream media is center-left liberals. But the presence of such bias in those media outlets doesn't mean they're always wrong!
Let's put it this way, if the same person who throws a rock at your head also happens to say "Vitamin C is good for you", the proper response is NOT "I'm going to avoid Vitamin C". The proper response is to acknowledge that people are complex and they can be correct about one thing and incorrect about another.
Too many people's response to the craziness of the Radical Left is to automatically believe everyone who leans left is wrong about everything. THAT IS NOT CRITICAL THINKING!
But for many of the Trump supporters and paleo-libertarians, critical thinking goes out the window, and they knee-jerk reject anything said by anyone who leans center-left or radical left.
Yes, I get it, people like Joe Biden or David Ige are not perfect people. They're not the best communicators. But when it comes to the coronavirus crisis, they are following the actual science instead of conspiracy nutcase interpretation of science.
As actual leaders, they have to adjust to the situation as it is, instead of being so married to an ideology that they can't be flexible!
Managing a crisis requires flexibility. This flexibility sometimes frustrates people.
I remember occasionally being frustrated by school administration's flexibility when I was a substitute teacher. But there's a reason for such flexibility from administration because changing circumstances require a change of plans. And being a mature person requires putting my frustration on the side and deal with the changing circumstances as they are.
Obviously, managing government policy during a crisis has much more far-reaching impacts than dealing with it on a school level.
Governments dealing with crises have to make a change of plans when the knowledge of the crisis changes. When new knowledge comes in, the government has to be flexible. When case numbers go up, the government has to be flexible. When economic impacts are being revealed, the government has to be flexible. When the public health impacts are being revealed in real-time, the government has to be flexible.
David Ige understands that. Dr. Fauci understands that. Mature adults understand that!
That doesn't mean just be silent & obey "our masters".
We still have the freedom of speech to speak up when things are going wrong.
In fact, it is BECAUSE people speak up that leaders like David Ige are flexible and therefore change plans. Real leaders accept input from others.
It is the rigid attitudes like those of Donald Trump that cause additional problems.
Yes, I know that Trump's Operation Warp Speed ramped up vaccine production, though we also have to acknowledge that major vaccine producer Pfizer is a German company and therefore outside Trump's jurisdiction.
But for too long during Trump's term in office, he refuses to admit when he has been incorrect. He refused to admit that his demands that states re-open things had disastrous results. He refused to admit he was wrong to not wear masks. He refused to admit that his rallies and White House gatherings were super-spreader events. He is so obsessed with being Never Wrong that he failed to realize that real leadership during a crisis requires admitting mistakes and/or changing plans. When he got infected, it revealed to the public the weakness of his rigid Never Wrong persona. It was that issue that doomed his re-election campaign.
Trump may be gone from power, but the ratlickers in both the paleo-conservative and paleo-libertarian movements are still not learning the lessons of Trump's fiasco.
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And going back to the libertarian movement, there is some hope in that some are intelligent enough to know there is a government role in public health.
Obviously, you wouldn't expect libertarians to support a government-run health care monopoly.
In fact, libertarians were the main ones advocating getting rid of regulations that got in the way of dealing with the crisis.
Here's a good article about that
John Stossel, “The Red Tape Pandemic,” Townhall, March 25, 2020,
https://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2020/03/25/the-red-tape-pandemic-n2565634
But even with that, other libertarians realize that regulations to stop the spread of the virus don't have to lead to tyranny.
In fact, the former chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Nicholas Sarwark shared this classic meme.
Here are some other libertarian-leaning people who are serious about the coronavirus crisis, that you could follow on social media
(note: these links go to their Facebook accounts. Some of the listed also have accounts on Twitter & other social media outlets)
Joe Bishop-Henchman
(note: I could add more to the list as soon I'm aware of who to add)
These are what we call the "cool libertarians", so different from the paleo-libertarian ratlickers that drive good people away from the Libertarian movement, especially during the coronavirus crisis.
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UPDATE: check this video I made titled ....
"Take the Coronavirus Crisis Seriously, DAMMIT!"
