Have we triaged the Republic so soon?

Quarantine, flatten the curve, social distance, and even washing your hands make for news these days.  In months where we normally would have been talking March Madness, the opening day of baseball season, graduation ceremonies, and summer vacations; we are swamped with medical terms and approaches to living.

M9 or M95 masks?  Images of ventilators and respirators and antigen testing devices bounce around in my head.  Social distancing has put social media on steroids and now we are all medical experts.

Amidst the medical jargon that abounds, I wish to voice a concern that the Republic seems to have been triaged to the expected category.  Yes, I know there are new terms, but I will stick with the original for not expected to survive.

The fatalities in establishing and preserving this Grand Experiment called America must not be left out of the discussion consumed by the fear of a single contagion.  Let us not dismiss so quickly the price paid for the liberties that we know.

Let’s not throw it all away for fear of one of the many things in life that could kill us, but probably won’t.  I am not ready to put the Republic on morphine and call the chaplain over just yet.

CBA for COVID-19

For any endeavor of this sort begun at this stage, the words more to follow are essential.  This is a snapshot of our current situation that hopes to provoke further thought on what has happened and will likely happen.

It is a provocation to bring forth thinking and analysis not to assign blame.  Some are not equipped for such a process and are advised to rant elsewhere.

But the time is upon us to analyze what the past few months have cost us and what benefits we as a nation received.  Well-considered thoughts are welcomed in the comments in the hopes of advancing this dialogue.

Cost

Shut down much of the economy

Incredible unemployment

Major medical procedures and doctor visits canceled (or postponed) in large numbers

Reward for not working

Suspension of Constitutional liberties

Fear expanded rapidly on a large scale

Incredible spending on COVID-19 expenses

Incredible spending on expenses not related to COVID-19 but tied to expenditure measures

Essential service workers exposed at higher risk

Leveraging of national emergency for political advantage

Further exploration of national liberties to be suspended beyond the authority of the government

Loss of major events of social importance (graduations, proms, baccalaureates)

Educational structure lost or required modification

We saw the worst of people (hoarding) and government (overstepping authority)

Benefit

Kept contagion from exceeding national and regional hospital capacity

Saved many lives compared against predictive and stochastic models

Increased awareness and practice of hygiene measures

Contagion slowed (perhaps reduced) by social distancing

Many people had more family time

Creativity employed to continue education

We saw the best of people (generosity and helping) and of government (incredible logistics)

Analysis

Many practices of 2020 are not sustainable

Fear has too much of a grip on people in this age

Hygiene and distancing practices must be devised that permit continuation of commerce, liberty, and the republic that retains the idea that power emanates from the people

A declared emergency of this magnitude must not become commonplace

Constitutional authority usurped by the government at any level is returned to the people in smaller measures and presented as a new normal.  All must be on the lookout for subtle reductions in liberty

The press must return to its role as the watchdog of government, taking no sides on issues or personalities, reporting with integrity across the board

People must be able to trust the media again.

Distancing technology will likely become more commonplace

Balancing the role of government in promoting the general welfare and restricting the role of government to those powers granted it by the people (via the Constitution of the United States) must be a real dialogue in the year ahead.

Open by Easter?

Some are very critical of President Trump for wanting to get back to normal and setting a date.  He knows that this is an ambitious date and likely not possible for much of the country, but this date is not about medicine but liberty.

While the contagion that is sweeping the world is real and poses an existential risk, it’s spread is far behind the spread of another contagion—fear. 

Did anyone notice how quickly we surrendered our liberties in this country?  We did this believing they were for the greater good, but what about next time?

Having seen how easy it was to increase the power of government using fear as leverage, what comes next?  It seems that a third of this nation wants the government to be in charge of everything anyway. 

We have seen how half of our legislature used this crisis for political gain.  The very thing that the Founding Fathers thought to restrain with exceptional wisdom in our Constitution has been loosed.  Tyranny is alive and well in this century.

With most of the mainstream media sporting a liberal bias, the watchdog of government has been put on its leash.  The only guardian of a free society rests in the Second Amendment, and much of our nation wants to ignore the Supreme Law of the Land.

So where does that leave us?  Vulnerable, that’s where.  A Constitutional Amendment takes a lot of work and is not likely in our divided society, but fear has proved its worth to the one who has disdain for the governed and desires only power.

Why is it important to get out and back to work?  We need to kick fear to the curb.  Will there be medical casualties?  Yes.

There will be casualties whether we cower in fear or step out in courage once again, but the worst casualty imaginable would be the whimper of a free people surrendering their freedom.

Easter Sunday may or may not bring about some normalcy to our nation, but setting the goal is so important now.  Fear and government control must not become the new normal. 

Surely, there are parts of our nation that will not be close to normalcy by then, but many might be and they can be a beacon to the rest of the nation.  There may be some mitigation strategies required for some areas to begin this restoration process. 

Let’s do what our government asks of us knowing that the Chief Executive is on the side of liberty, but we must be vigilant and not become complacent.

There may be casualties as we fight to retain our liberty.  We are used to casualties on battlefields of bombs and bullets, but now we face an enemy that penetrates our lines across the nation.  That enemy is not a virus but fear.

The casualties incurred in preserving our freedom will be far less than those that we will bear to regain it. 

Dear President Trump

Dear President Trump,

I am an advocate of liberty as we have come to know it in America.  I am what you might call a Reagan Republican.  I want smaller government and fiscal responsibility from my elected officials.  I believe in the continued viability of our Constitution. 

America is the greatest country the world has ever known.  Yes, Israel is great because they are God’s Chosen People but we have been a nation that took the light of our Lord globally in so many ways.  We are the best example of doing good that the world has ever known.

I have considered disdain for those who would destroy America because of their hatred for you.  We must vote them out of office.  The past three years have been nothing sort of a bill of attainder with your name on the death sentence.  The very thing outlawed in the Supreme Law of the Land is the goal of so many who would take you down to preserve their own power and privilege.

For those who broke the law or committed treason, the prosecution must be swift and the punishment for those convicted appropriate.  The members of a failed coup d'état must not go unscathed. 

And then there are the media.  This is a special group protected by the Bill of Rights.  The free press is essential to a free society.  But they have abused their status.

Mr. President, this one is completely on us.  We have tolerated their contempt for America and Americans because of their hatred towards you.  This is not acceptable. 

We must demand more accountability from them.  We must stop using all the products of the sponsors of tainted news.  Editorials are fine but weaponizing the media against you or any other person is unconscionable in our society.

We must no longer subsidize their sedition and cowardice. 

And now we come to this national crisis and increased intrusion into the lives of Americans by the government at all levels.  Were this done by your predecessor or those who seek to replace you, I would have considered that a power grab intended to bypass our Constitutional protections.

But I trust you.  I trust you not because you are a smooth-talking politician but because you are not.  Your lack of tact in some situations is somewhat irritating, but I can handle that just as the commander’s language might get a little spicy after his orders are to take the hill. 

I trust that you will do whatever it takes to combat the virus that has altered our lives so much and I trust that you will return this nation to the republic that brought greatness to the world with the same or greater passion that you are combating our present enemy.

I trust you to do this and pray that God sustains you through this. 

Take the hill!

Semper Fidelis,

Thomas R. Spence

The Man in the Arena

This is one of my all-time favorites.

The Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

National Emergencies Act here we come!!!

I think that we are very close to the President invoking the National Emergencies Act (1976) if for no other reason than to pay those being hurt by the shutdown and the failure of Congress to take any action.  This will create even greater controversy, but the intractable course that the left seems attached to may leave him little choice.  I can’t see the president content in hanging these folks out to dry.

We have only ourselves to blame for permitting hate for one man to govern the conduct of those who represent us—or at least should be!

Why I will vote Republican in this Age of Confusion

Not long ago, I asked online what the Democratic Party stood for—I had been reading a Hate Trump sort of post.  I got one vanilla reference to a third-party sight that at least mentioned some differences between the two parties, but I have yet to hear a Democrat articulate their objectives, save get elected and impeach Trump. 

I grit my teeth whenever I think about Americans of any party seeking to overthrow a legal election by circuitous and subversive means. There is a presidential election in 2 more years.  If you don’t like the president—even if you hate him—the Constitutional way to overthrow our Chief Executive is already in place in 2020.   I still ask for someone to state with clarity what the Democratic Party really wants for this nation.

Taking that into consideration, I thought I should hold myself to the same standard and enumerate what the Republican Party stands for.  This is my list, which is surely not comprehensive but at least hits 10+ main areas.  Some of these are less Republican Party goals as they are Donald Trump goals.  The latter are annotated below.

I will state in advance that I am not happy with the Republicans sticking to traditional values.  Too many have sold out, especially at the fiscal responsibility level.  At the national level, I still lean right of center on most issues, especially considering some of the anti-American rhetoric from the left, but I should be able to state why.

Here’s my list.

God is welcome

National Defense

Strict Construction of the Constitution

Value Individual Liberties provided in Bill of Rights

Value life from inception to death

Smaller Government

Fiscal Responsibility

Jobs back to America - Trump

Immigration Reform - Trump

Lower Taxes

Reasonable Health Care - Trump

American Uniqueness – Without the USA who will be a light unto the world?

Distinct Separation of Powers—Namely removing judges that usurp legislative and executive power

Civility and Statesmanship

Providing Opportunities for Success over Handouts

Free Markets over Socialism