What I don’t know (and neither do you):
- I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future with respect to COVID-19. You don’t either. And neither do the experts in those fields.
- I don’t know how long it will take for our economy to recover or what measures should be taken to limit the negative effect of the shutdowns. You don’t either. And neither do the experts in the field.
- I don’t know which, if any, of the experts to believe. Neither do you. And neither does anyone else.
What I do know:
- For every epidemiologist, immunologist, doctor, or other medical professional you cite to support your view, I can find one that supports a different view. The ones with a different view from yours are the ones you call quacks, idiots, moron, and dangerous.
- For every economist you cite to support your belief about how the economy will recover or what measures should be taken to limit the negative effect of the shutdowns, I can find one that supports a different view. The ones with a different view from yours are the ones you call idiots, morons, and dangerous.
- For every expert, in any field, you choose to believe, I can find one that supports a different view. Again, the ones with different views from yours are the ones you call idiots, morons, and dangerous.
- Politicians thrive on public fear. Many will seize control of the masses at every opportunity. I offer our current conditions as irrefutable evidence.
- Government policies always have unforeseen consequences. It is often the result that the cure is worse than the disease. Our president carefully chose the word ‘war’ in his efforts to address this pandemic. I’ll cite two previous problems where that term has been used and the government response has been an abject failure: the war on drugs and the war on poverty. Both of those problems have gotten worse since the declarations of war against them. Their cures have been worse than the disease.
- Widespread suppression of natural rights is never the answer to a problem. Ever.
- As Americans we should never allow ourselves to be ruled by a single person with no checks and balances. Ever.
Unlike others, I do not believe time will reveal the truth. “History is written by victors,” a quote often attributed to Winston Churchill, is appropriate for what we are currently experiencing. The politicians are already claiming victory for curing this pandemic. This is something that simply cannot be proven. When a president presides over a bad economy, he will always claim that without his policies, things would have been worse. Similarly, when a president or governor presides over a disaster, he will always claim that without his policies, things would have been worse. None of this can be proven.
When this is over, and it will be someday, the politicians will claim victory and the historical account will be set in stone. It won’t matter that voices in the background try to dispute them or that there may be evidence to support a different view. Those with the collective view are nearly always the victors and they will write the history. This will result in bad policies being perpetrated on the public over and over again.
In summary, I am not an expert and neither are you. There are many things I don’t know and the same goes for you. Citing your favorite expert, personal anecdotes, or work experiences does not offer additional credibility to your claims when there are a substantial number of experts who disagree. The public in general is not stupid. As in all ways of life, there are those that will behave poorly. No government measure can stop that. We all have our opinions and nearly always seek out information to confirm what we believe and dismiss information that disagrees with it. We should all fight that instinct.
I’m very disappointed to see the vast population suddenly claiming expertise in problems that have so many variables that even statistical methods such as multiple regression analysis are proving to be wrong. I don’t know what to do. I do know one thing not to do: never give up my God given natural rights to anyone without a fight.