“Enough already!” appears to be the rallying cry of a multitude of Americans as the Coronavirus lockdown slides into the month of May. While there is no federal mandate to stay shut up in your home, some governors have been reluctant to release the massive power they have over their citizens. Other state authorities, however, have expanded emergency powers to keep their people on lockdown, compelling freedom fighters to take to the streets.
Let My People Go
America’s founders had a lot to say about liberty. Benjamin Franklin may have put it best: “Those who would give up essential liberty, to gain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” John Hancock urged us to “… nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.” Supporters of liberty have been warning about big-government tyranny for decades, and the Coronavirus has become a flashpoint for Americans to get off their backsides and demand freedom.
Demonstrations in Michigan are most often cited. Still, guardians of liberty in Virginia, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Washington also have taken to the streets. Some of these protests started with a few dozen courageous citizens, but they are growing in volume and number. Voicing discontent is nothing new in America, and this nation was built primarily on the backs of freedom fighters. Indeed, we are fiercely independent people who do not like to be told where to go, what to do, and when to do it.
Of course, when you put public health up against liberty, there are valid arguments to be made on both sides. But patience is wearing thin for those who not only want to get back to work but also need to do so – and soon. It can be argued that some governors are finding a “one size fits all” approach – keeping everyone in their state on lockdown – to be the most facile. Virginia’s Gov. Ralph Northam, for example, has set June 10 as the date to reopen the Old Dominion.
Our destiny as a freedom-loving nation is sorely tested in these times. Will we raise our freedom flags or cower in our homes waiting approval from our masters to get on with our lives? Do we the people still have the fortitude to stand up and say no to the tyranny of overbearing governors? Or have we become coddled and soft, comfortable in our little cocoons?
America’s founding father – the man that would not be king – George Washington asserted, “Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.” It appears the same can be said for tyranny – and that is something that should concern every American.
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Read more from Leesa K. Donner.
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