The last three months have highlighted how some elected officials will misread the Constitution to increase their power over their constituents, even going to lengths that some would call “insane”.
Our founding fathers never envisioned a time when governors, mayors and bureaucrats would curtail the basic liberties of Americans. Perhaps the ridiculous became the almost sublime when this sign was posted about Contra Costa County in California. It proclaimed the updated rules about gatherings of people would prohibit “social outdoor gatherings” of more than 12 people, but would let up to 100 people gather to engage in protests. Day care and camps could accommodate no more than 12 “little” people, while churches could not have any services indoors until June 15. Libraries could institute curbside pickups, and certain businesses could reopen, including outside museums and pet grooming, which could operate.
Our Constitution was written in 1787, and one of the “flaws” was that basic human rights were not protected. So it was that in 1791, the Bill of Rights was added to this basic document showing how the republic was to be governed. Those rights were not granted by the Constitution; they were protected as rights already enjoyed by Americans, rights God-given to all humans.
But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we Americans were quarantined in our homes, businesses were shut down (unless deemed “essential”), resulting in job losses and business closures. Almost all (save South Dakota) governors enacted varying rules affecting the people in their states, but the patchwork of such regulations bore little resemblance to what we in the United States expected from our rulers.
First, the orders were in response to basically flawed models about the lethality of the virus. From predictions of up to 2.2 Americans dying from the coronavirus, to a flooding of our health system by the many more millions who would be sickened by it, it seemed as if draconian measures were needed to keep most citizens safe. Yet few people, especially those in authority, even questioned the “experts” as to how accurate their dire prediction of the pandemic s would be. Now even the most pessimistic of models have drastically shrunk the expectations of wide-spread havoc on the populous.
What was done then to our nation’s laws? A robust economy was halted amidst a record breaking expansion, individual liberty was curtailed and the rights of Americans were quashed in an attempt to kill off an invisible foe.
But the most egregious of these depredations was what happened to churches. Over the nation thousands of churches were closed, with punishments ranging from fines to jail time for those who dared to worship freely. That First Amendment protects our right to the “free exercise” of our faith, and this right was the one freedom most restricted. Examples of what was allowed to continue to operate abound, showing the insanity of the orders from those in control, but also the antipathy toward Christianity many felt.
For instance: Stores that sold alcohol could stay open, but not churches. If you wanted an abortion, that was fine, but worship in a church was forbidden. Gun stores were deemed “essential”, but it took almost three months for churches to be so designated. Businesses that sold marijuana could continue operating, but churches were shuttered. So-called big box stores could be open for business, but churches still had closed doors. Pharmacies could still be open for the physical needs of people, but the spiritual aspect of life was denied when churches still could not see to the needs of their parishioners.
Even when some states relaxed the rules to allow churches to resume services, the regulations put restrictions on those who could attend. Many states would allow only ten people at a time in a church building (even those who had large auditoriums and regularly saw hundreds or even thousands on a typical Sunday attend); social distancing had to be observed, with one example hard to fathom, though it was a “requirement”. Two small churches combined services for a drive-in worship, where attendees sat in their cars and listened to the music, prayers and sermon broadcast on an AM channel. Yet, according to one unelected official of the local health department, the cars had to be parked at least six feet apart!
Recently the mask wearing mandated by some states (our good governor included this in his executive orders) was seen to have only minimal benefits. In addition, the social contact which was so prohibited in the many places seems to be detrimental only if the contact is continual and in close. We who try to follow the “law” have been restricted in our daily lives by rules that may not have much to do with keeping the virus under control.
Our economy has taken a big hit, people and businesses have lost their livelihoods, all for what? It did give some officials the opportunity to release their inner tyranny, power which went to their heads in many ways. One state’s governor decreed that a person could not travel to their second home in the state, and if they had a boat only two people could be in that boat at one time. In addition, for a while, one could not buy garden seed, have someone mow their lawn and no salons or barbershops could stay open
Yet it took a long time before people became so frustrated that protests were seen on the streets of the various states’ capitals. Why? It seems that the freedoms that we have long cherished, which were bought with the sacrifice and blood of patriots (“give me liberty or give me death”) has been replaced with the need to stay safe. And that fear of disaster on a personal level has been used to strip us of some of our basic rights.
Most states have started to “open up” for business again. Perhaps if we get back to some sense of normalcy, the next time some catastrophic even looms, we will, as a nation, make sure our leaders are held to account for the actions they take, and we will not allow those who think they are better and smarter than we rule us as if we were serfs.
Can our liberties be taken from us? The experience of Christians over the past three months say that they can be unless we stand up for our basic rights, guaranteed by the Constitution to be protected by our government. “Eternal vigilance” is the key to keeping our freedoms which God has given to us.