America's Democracy Will Not
Be Put into Quarantine

Well it has so far...

I am a staunch conservative. But there IS a time to exercise RESPONSIBILITY as a self-accepted and self-imposed throttle on FREEDOM. Here's the deal. When FREE people act irresponsibly, they invite government intrusion to bring them in line. If people took the proactive steps outlined and simply applied the GOLDEN RULE - do unto others as you would have them do unto you - then governments would not be nearly as intrusive. Why do we have laws against mortgage fraud? Because people act irresponsibly. Laws against drunk driving? Because people act irresponsibly. Laws against loitering? Because people act irresponsibly. Laws against theft and burglary? Because people act irresponsibly. Laws against robbery? Because people act irresponsibly. Were there no robbers and no drunks there would be no laws against the things they do. So, if people act irresponsibly NOW, under the guise of expressing their personal freedoms, and things get really ugly with this virus, they will have invited a new class of law into being that will be one heck of an assault on personal freedoms. 9/11 created the TSA and Dept. of Homeland Security, two things we all wish would dry up and blow away. Do you REALLY want a Department of Disease Control that monitors and enforces when and where you can or cannot go? If your answer is YES - then do everything you can to spread this virus.

A woman restocking the bread shelves told me that when this media-induced panic first manifested she thought, "What is going on? Are we being attacked?" And she was right to be perplexed about the huge numbers of people invading the market for... toilet paper? and then, once the tissue section was left picked clean like a carcass left by buzzards, the wild-eyed customers raided the meat and canned goods and frozen vegetable cabinets. Forget about anything with bleach or Lysol or hand-sanitizer. Knowing we always have flu seasons, and the common cold, and other random nasty viruses, we always keep wipes and Purell-type products on hand. A couple of months ago I considered throwing out some of those bottles. I'm glad I kept them! Anyway, why is anyone surprised that people are fighting in the aisles, beating each other over the head, and even worse, over the possibility that they won't have toilet paper? Don't they keep a little supply? Haven't they ever faced storms? or been sick and unable to shop IN a store? Panic is a product of irrationality, and vice versa. We see similar shopping panics on Black Fridays, for example, when somebody else might buy The Thing before they can get to it. What is wrong with people? We're seeing human nature untempered by the kind of teaching we got in Sunday school and at our Mother's knee (and sometimes a well-timed pinch on the derriere to silently get our attention), and a culture which promoted, generally speaking, Biblical mores, or at least frowning on selfishness or greed or envy (hmmm, reminds me of the Ten Commandments). No one is going to give a Snap Out Of It speech, because you can't hurt people's feelings or scare them. So, thinking about what the woman and I talked about, what really would happen were a visible enemy to invade and attack? We have an invisible one now, and we're not doing too well, judging by the fights and hoarding, and the clamoring for The Test. The gloom is broken by glints of goodness, generosity, the doctors and nurses, the Trump Administration martialing people of good will in Congress. President Trump called the nation to a common purpose. Too bad the media/Democrats refuse to participate in that, fanning the flames of panic, which the Ancient Greeks said is always accompanied by strife. Our President has called for prayer. That's something we can all do, praying for healing of our land, spiritually, morally.

I very much appreciate your comments #2 and #3. Thank you for your perspective.

The dems' media, led by NPR, seems not to be getting the word that this is not the time for their socialism to take over everything and send everyone, except the very rich, a one thousand dollar check! The dems & their media are mobilizing all their efforts toward moving this democratic republic into a top down form of governance, with them at the top dictating to the rest of us. The media's opportunistic rhetoric right now seems to be filled with leftist propaganda intended to cause chaos. ...It's what socialists do. Remember, first, thankfully we have a President who trusts in God for guidance as he has set this day aside for prayer. Second, Pres. Trump has the very best experts in the fields of health, transportation, economy, etc. and we individual Americans are doing much to help ourselves and others as we always do in times of need. In contrast, the dems are going bonkers stirring strife through the media & trying to convince Americans that we are helpless victims with our hands out begging for BIG Government to send us a check & supply our every need. That is the dems' same old political con game! Americans refuse to be duped again. ...The sky is not falling.

Right #1. Yesterday, the Governor of North Carolina (Roy Cooper, Democrat) mandated that there are to be no gatherings of more than 100 people in the entire state until further notice. I’m not exactly sure how one can not call that a clear violation of our first amendment right to assemble. No one seems to be questioning it. Why? I appreciate the whole “flatten the curve” concept but this is not Ebola. I am doing my part out of respect for the elderly and high risk people ( I personally fall into that category personally thanks to autoimmunity... ) but the government overreach here must be addressed. The total capitulation of the public in our state is mind boggling. And as a mass going Catholic who could not attend today because it was canceled on government orders, I am finding the Church’s quick surrender the most unsettling thing of all.

I believe in the use of common sense, and the need to restrict the spread of this virus. That said, as a 77 year old veteran, I never thought that I'd be living in a police state. If anyone wants to see what a Sanders presidency would look like, they need to venture to Louisiana. The Democrat dictator here has decreed that no gatherings of over 250 will be allowed, including the Casinos. Schools are closed and any gathering of more than 30 need permission. Almost all parades and festivals are canceled, in fact, when a St. Patricks day parade was canceled in New Orleans, some adult participants, still in their tuxedos, decided to party in a bar. The police came and shut it down. There is such a thing as over-reacting, which is the case in most of the country. The hoarding of bath tissue is one example. No one needs 500 rolls of bath tissue. We didn't get this crazy during the Obama-Biden H1N1 virus which sickened a lot more people and killed a lot more people, but because the President is a Republican, the media and the dim party are not going to let this 'disaster' go to waste. If anyone is noticing, it's mostly the public employees that are being furloughed during this hoax, not the private sector people that still have real jobs to do to keep America running. When this is over, and it will be over, we need to look at all of the people that we were able to survive without, and declare them non-essential and let them look for jobs in the private sector. Sorry for the rant, but I think 90% of this is BS. It's an excuse to waste 50 billion dollars on pork spending and another couple of months of time off with pay.

#7 I too live in Louisiana. I will be interested to hear if they even had to do a head count at my church today. They encouraged us to watch online. If I didn't have the season allergy cough, I would have been there. Our sermon today included the list of end times events prophesied that included "pestilence". Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

#8- No head count at Mass, but there was no wine, no greeting your neighbor and no hand holding. I guess we were tempting fate, but we did hold hands and still had communion. No Holy water at the entrance, just a bottle of Purell. Bishops advice was to watch mass from home, but our 34 year old pastor said he would be there every day. I guess some common sense, mixed with appropriate caution. We're looking at the Lenten fish frys, we'll probsbly go to drive throughs.