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Successfully clawing our way back from the COVID-19 pandemic can only happen if and when our political leaders understand some risks are worth taking. That we cannot guarantee in advance that a given action won’t have negative consequences doesn’t mean the action is reckless, much less wrong.
From the beginning, discussions about what should be done have had as much, if not more, to do with politics as science. I am not referencing those at either end of the extremes. Instead, this a simple acknowledgment that the level of risk acceptable to most Republican leaders is higher than is the case for most Democrats. We should not allow how matters are viewed by the majority of the mainstream media to dictate what is allowed. Instead, we should do as we have been lectured to do from the start — listen to the experts, follow the science, let the data decide.
When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his state was ending the requirement to wear masks and that Texas was open for business, the president of the United States described this as Neanderthal thinking. When the results showed it was a safe and sound decision, the critics argued to wait a couple of weeks. Well, we are way past that timeframe, and Texas is doing just fine, thank you.
Meanwhile, blue state leaders have been reluctant to ease mitigation measures. The very same people who insisted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should have its every utterance followed without question now are torturing logic and reason to keep mask mandates in place.
In my home state of New York, who can forget the power struggle between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio as to which one had the most authority to tell their subjects what was acceptable? As if the only given was that we were too stupid to do the right thing without their wisdom to guide us.
The leaders so reluctant to ease up on restrictions are hung up on the reality that risk will never be zero. But we live with risk every day. Taking measured risks such as driving on a highway provides benefits that outweigh that risk, so we do it.
When we knew so little about COVID, surrendering a large number of our personal freedoms seemed justified in the interests of public safety. Resistance did occur, but those complying were in the overwhelming majority. The time has come for those who put a premium on freedom and personal responsibility to stand up against those who would impose a true nanny state on us. It is also time to tell individuals who want their every need and concern handled by the government that we are not having it, and we aren’t going to keep paying for it.
American businesses are having trouble finding workers to fill jobs. In many cases, the reason is simple: The enhanced unemployment benefits (not subject to taxation) are enough in the minds of many to just stay home. Millions of Americans were thrown out of work because of COVID. Supporting them made sense. Now, it makes every bit as much sense to do what it takes for those who are able to seek work.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said his state would be putting an end to enhanced unemployment benefits, the predictable howls from the left were quick and loud. President Biden somehow rationalized the dismal jobs numbers from last month as being a good sign. No liberal seems to believe there is any need to do anything other than print more money.
Many years ago, Ronald Reagan once observed that for Republicans, every day was July 4th (Independence Day), while for Democrats, every day was April 15 (Tax Day). Drunk with power, Democrats seem fixated on behaving as though all the money belongs to the government, and they will let us know how much allowance we will get.
This is a great and good country. We cannot continue to be so if nothing can be done unless it is 100% without risk or likelihood of some negative outcomes.
It’s time to buck up and get back to our way of life.
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