Half the readers I hear from accuse me of Trump Derangement Syndrome. The other half accuse me of rabid Trump fandom. In truth, I think of US President Donald J. Trump in exactly the same way I think of most other politicians: He’s usually wrong and often dangerous. But when he’s right he’s right.
He’s right when he says that America needs to “open up” soon.
If anything, his target date of Easter is too distant.
The longer we wait to get moving again, the longer it will take to recover.
The longer we wait, the more Americans will descend into, or fall deeper into, poverty.
The longer we wait, the more Americans will die of causes other than coronavirus.
If we wait TOO long, starvation and malnutrition will be among those causes.
We don’t have to like it. That’s how it is whether we like it or not.
One of the oddest assertions I’ve heard from American politicians is that the COVID-19 outbreak is “our generation’s World War 2.”
I’m far too young to remember World War 2, but I’ve listened to veterans talk about it, read its history, and love the era’s propaganda posters. Rosie the Riveter in “We Can Do it!” “Lay-Offs Cost Lives!” “Work To Win.”
I’m trying to imagine a propaganda poster for “our World War 2,” and all that comes to mind is a hand reaching out from under a bed to grab a government check.
That image isn’t nearly as inspiring, is it? Nor is the sentiment nearly as practical.
America won World War 2 by working and fighting. It isn’t going to beat COVID-19 by shutting down and cowering.
Our politicians are thoroughly enjoying their extended Mussolini cosplay holiday, but their “lockdown” orders and such are merely feeding their egos, not starving the virus. The longer we continue to put up with that authoritarian nonsense, the harder it’s going to get to reclaim our rights and put them back in their places. Once they get used to filthy serfs like you and me taking a knee when they pass by, they’re not going to want to give it up.
The more quickly we seize back control of our lives — from the virus and from the politicians — the more quickly our lives will start getting better again.
Call me a Trump fanboy if it makes you feel better, but I’m with the president on this one.
Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.
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