Coronavirus quarantine musings
These thoughts are coming from my home during my three-week, self-imposed exile here at Little Summit. It is so dull that my wife and I get all excited and dress up in our Sunday clothes to wave at the trashman when he comes on Wednesdays.
But don’t conclude that I am utterly bereft of gratitude during this government advised self incarceration. I do appreciate my satellite TV. Moreover, how could I possibly survive without my wife’s exciting updates on the coronavirus every ten-minutes from her cell phone? Besides this, each day, I begin at daybreak. Until bedtime, I consume the world news, national news, fake news, local news, fake news, weather forecasts, special reports, fake news, breaking news, virus commentary, fake news, virus specials, and more fake news. My mind, or what is left of it, by the end of the day, is always more confused, angry, and murderous than it was the previous morning.
All that said, I want to give you my semi-paranoid musings of what is looming on the horizon for America. This appraisal will be absent the coronavirus pandemic reports and minus my wife’s cell phone breaking Fayette county virus news.
I am concerned that many Americans do not realize just how critical this Fall’s election is to America’s survival. It is my thinking that God-fearing Americans, along with other freedom-loving citizens, need to get bug-eyed angry. But our justified wrath must be aimed at more than the coronavirus, the Chinese, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer.
What I am suggesting is that we direct our justified outrage toward an intrusive and out of control government. When did the government receive the authority to mandate the closure of businesses, quarantine us in our homes, limit the size of a group meeting, and monitor or restrict out travel?
Most galling is that when due to an unforeseen circumstance such as the coronavirus, a single person [the governor of a state] can forcibly close a church, synagogue, temple, or other places of worship. It is one thing to plead and convince religious leaders for the closure of churches and other places of worship. It may be a sensible option and advisable in certain circumstances. But we should still have a right in this nation, to make choices that others think are not sensible or even stupid. I say this is light of the fact that abortion clinics in most states remain open and are considered “essential” as are also liquor stores.
But explain to me “where” or “when” the Constitution places such enormous and unmitigated power is the domain of a politician. I don’t think “Marshall Law” has yet been declared or is in effect in this present danger.
Our founders believed that we had certain “inalienable” rights, which were a legacy provided by God — not government. But beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt, a radical change in political thinking was introduced to America. Glib, liberal, self-serving politicians, began promoting the fantasy that government is not only all-wise and all-powerful but is able to guarantee everyone every necessity of life, and provide it “free” and forever.
What a Utopian life the liberal assures us this will bring! The tantalizing bait is the illusion of a carefree and bountiful existence with security, leisure, and fun for everyone. All this provided by an all-wise and all-powerful government. A government which thinks it knows better how to spend our money than we do.
It is undeniable that we are already trillions of dollars in debt. Democrats and some Republicans together have for years, borrowed and wasted untold billions of dollars. The billions borrowed have now become trillions, and the “chickens are just now coming home to roost.” We are debtors, and as a nation, we have borrowed, stolen, and squandered the financial stability of our future generations. It is they, our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who will pay the piper for today’s profligacy.
Another critical issue in the coming national elections will surely be the nature of our “health care.” Many have been snookered and convinced that the best option for health needs is a government-run federal health care program. That is socialized medicine. However, a forgotten monument to the projected “smooth functioning” of a nationalistic health program is observable from years ago as we look at the policies in German healthcare under Adolf Hitler.
Hitler’s approach to German health care, like everything else in Nazi Germany, involved total government control. As Hitler came to power, rationing began immediately. Next, Hitler began to eliminate those he determined were no longer worthy of the state-funded medical benefits.聽
I am wondering if this is not the root of the thinking of those “Brave New World” liberals who see the “up-side” of the current coronavirus pandemic. Some liberals have already suggested proposals to ration or restrict treatment with ventilators and other critical means from the chronically infirm and elderly should the coronavirus expand.
We are not yet where Hitler took German health care, and I hope we never get there. But if government-controlled health care eventually becomes a reality, will we hear in some uncertain time the following? “In the interest of fairness and financial necessity, should we not put the elderly, and infirm, and unneeded, or unwanted to sleep?” God help America.
William “Ed” Nicholson is pastor of Grace Baptist Chapel at Little Summit in Dunbar Twp. He holds graduate degrees in both Bible and Education. He is a life member of the amputee chapter of the Disabled American Veterans. He may be reached on Facebook or at willnpa9@gmail.com