It has come down to this: we have neglected and abused the Common, and now the Common may well kill us off.
Your life depends on how much money you can accumulate, however you can get it. Food, shelter and medical care are commodities for sale. You are on your own. Good luck.
Many of us act like we're happy under this absurd arrangement. People have said that it's "The Human Condition," or "Nature's Way," or "God's Will." That last argument means if you were born rich, you did something right; if you were born in misery, it's your fault. If they don't like that unhappy theory they cite Bentham: "The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number." You can make a lot of money saying that, these days.
Except this doesn't work anymore. Your life now depends entirely on the Commons. It always has. We borrowed from it freely, and cooked the books.
Pandemics wipe out populations of ignorant people and staunch individualists, alike. If you ignore the Germ Theory, you can infect others, most likely starting with those you care about most.
Say it's all a hoax; say a "lockdown" is all just a plot. Decide you know as much as people with decades of scientific experience and real public health accomplishments. We're talking about the kind of people who brought us indoor plumbing. That has worked out really well for all of us. What's not to like? But go ahead, bet the lives of your family and friends on your personal opinion. Go with, say, "Rush," or the beloved President. Lots of people will agree with you, according to them. They can't all be wrong, can they? Why would they lie? They have nothing to gain. But those scientists, just plumbers with all that grant money from George Soros, right?
What's this argument really about, really?
It boils down, as arguments do, when we manage them with respect. This one is about just one issue: whether you are responsible, in any way, for other people's wellbeing. Or not.
It's a tough choice, and it's yours to make. As a person of integrity, you act on your word. Either by wearing a mask and staying six feet apart from everybody; or by standing shoulder-to-shoulder at ball games and church picnics and political rallies, boldly unmasked! It doesn't matter what you say at that point, your actions are doing the talking.
Regardless of which side you chose, you probably call this Solidarity (it just means guarding each other's backs.)
What if you're wrong?
Would you change your ways, or would you refuse to give up?
If you say we are responsible for others, and the pandemic turns out to be nothing but a Democrat plot against our beloved President, what harm have you done?
Or, if you say it's everyone for him-or-herself, and the pandemic wipes out several million people, maybe including your own family, then what?
(Gotcha alert. Stick around. You walked into this with eyes wide open.)
Oh, yes: the Economy.
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