Give me liberty, or give me death
To the Editor,
In recent decades, many Americans have come to have less tolerance for any legislation that restricts personal freedoms. In contrast, according to a February 19 New York Times article, Germany is seriously considering implementing more-intrusive surveillance measures and other restrictions on personal freedoms. German leaders justify this move on the ground that the main opposition party is a “suspected case” of anti-democratic, extremist activity. (Germany already has laws restricting certain personal freedoms, rooted in efforts since World War II to prevent the real threat of a resurgence of Nazism.)
Meanwhile, Americans suffer along with permissive gun laws, despite the obvious harm they cause. (Representative Lauren Boebert was recently seen in a virtual House committee meeting flaunting three rifles, in violation of House rules.) Add to this our laws that only very laxly restrict hate speech, and the almost completely unregulated posting of inflammatory lies on social media. Common sense has been silenced by dubiously broad interpretations of the First and Second Amendments.
Another major concern, with even more immediate and lethal consequences, is the failure to strongly enforce masking and social distancing rules that would help bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. Without firm masking and social-distancing rules at all levels of government, it is reasonable to expect the tragic consequences of the pandemic to continue, unnecessarily, beyond 2021.
The habit of presenting “alternative facts” that characterizes much of the rightwing press has been allowed to persist for many years, despite its documented impact on free and fair elections. These lies result in many citizens mistrusting medical authorities and believing irresponsible and false information about the seriousness of the coronavirus and the value and safety of vaccines.
What colossal selfishness — to disregard the safety of others! What cowardice on the part of our leaders — to fail to enforce rules that prevent unnecessary deaths! What cowardice on the part of our communities — to have given up on contact tracing as too late, too inconvenient, and too costly. And what political madness — to make masking a contentious political issue, rather than a straightforward public-health issue with lives in the balance. It takes little effort to recognize the clear-cut epidemiological data showing huge differences in infection rates — from country to country, state to state, and community to community, depending on whether basic precautions are observed or not.
Despite all the costs incurred by these abuses, our Western culture still prizes the individual, and individual freedom, over the welfare of the group. Restraint and discipline and self-sacrifice are being overlooked in favor of an insistence on a superficial concept of untrammeled individual freedom.
As the New Hampshire license plate puts it, “Live Free or Die.” How true!
Rob Dreyfus
Swarthmore
