The desire for the government to “just do something,” has reached a level we’ve not seen in a long time due to the ongoing pandemic..And yet, it is becoming clearer that the state neither possesses the competence, nor the justification for the vast overstepping the powers given it..If someone told you a year ago – that due to a virus from China that the government spent months claiming was “low risk” and refused to close the borders to prevent when it could have been stopped – we would be listening to politicians tell us whether Christmas is “on” or not, where we can buy things, who we can buy them from, what is “essential or not,” and heavily fining anyone who “resists” these restrictions, you probably would have dismissed them as a conspiracy theorist. .It also would have seemed entirely out of step with our values, and with our rights..Now, some may not want to hear talk of “rights” and “freedoms” right now, as they claim we have to set those aside during this crisis..But that is what the statists claim during every crisis, be it a pandemic, natural disaster, or war. .But what is the point of having freedoms if they are “set aside” whenever times are challenging? They endure, even when it may seem difficult..Worse still, there is growing evidence that politicians are taking these draconian measures out of a fear of being attacked for not “doing enough,” rather than actually following science..For example, while governments announce the virus death toll daily, they don’t announce the daily number of suicides – which have gone up alarmingly across the world..They don’t announce the rise in poverty from collapsing businesses. They don’t announce deaths due to overdoses – which have also been surging..In August, more people died of opioid overdoses in that one month alone in Alberta than had died during the entire pandemic up to that point..But since those numbers don’t get announced daily, there is no pressure on politicians to act..They also don’t mention the fact that cases are surging worldwide, in places with all different types of mandates and restrictions..We are seeing record profits for large international corporations, while small businesses get butchered. Many international box stores have exploited a loophole – another sign of the incompetence of government – that let them stay open to sell both “essential and non-essential items,” while the government shut down small businesses selling what they have declared to be “non-essential items.”.Of course, to those small businesses and the people who put their heart and soul into making a living, all of those items and all of their sales are “essential.”.As a result, we may exit this pandemic and come to find that our communities have been completely hollowed out of the small businesses that make them unique and truly special, with global corporations taking their place in an ever larger display of centralized dominance..It has also been disturbing to see how many people have been demanding that their individual freedom be taken away, wishing for an authority to ‘take charge’ and restrict what they and others could do..Yet, those demands for new and ever-expanded government authority come from many of the same people who originally opposed the government using their already-established authority to close the borders and protect ports of entry early in the pandemic, when it truly could have been mitigated..In fact, one of the few truly proven ways of mitigating the spread of the virus has been strong borders, something that few countries have implemented, even as they impose draconian crackdowns on their own citizens..At this point, individuals and families know about the virus, we know about the importance of wearing masks in appropriate circumstances, and we know about social distancing. With all of that information, it is time for government to step back, and remember that its job is to serve, not rule..The government is not our parent. They should be considered a third party hired to deliver a service and defend our rights..What we need now is for governments to recognize that instead of damaging government-enforced lockdowns and restrictions, it is up to individual responsibility, each person and family making their own choices about their own personal level of risk. That is the approach that can both keep people safe, and remain true to our rights and freedoms..Spencer Fernando is a columnist for the Western Standard and the owner/author of spencerfernando.com from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
