The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has wracked havoc across the world, including the United States. To counter this virus, state and local governments are implementing draconian "social distancing" measures to force Americans to shutter their businesses and remain at home, with no clear, objective explanation for how long. This policy of universal, indefinite, isolation is a "cure" worse than the disease, and we as Americans should not stand for it.

Let's examine the three components to see how harmful this policy is:

Universal: The policy mandates that all Americans remain at home and sacrifice their livelihoods for the sake of the most vulnerable people in society, such as the aged and the immuno-compromised. This is ineffective because the virus is not the only thing that can prematurely end life: our society relies on the division-of-labor and mass starvation will ensue if the supply chain is disrupted on such a massive scale. Contrary to what those who are advocating the lockdown policies claim, every job is essential to life because it gives us meaning and leads to the abundance of wealth required to end this plague.

Consider a small business owner who has invested their savings and years of their life into their restaurant or hair salon: to cavalierly annihilate the product of their work at the stroke of a pen is to effectively deduct those years from their life. And for what? An elderly neighbor that might contract a sickness that might kill them prematurely? If people were serious about saving the lives of the elderly and the vulnerable, they would encourage these people to stay home and potentially target aid or assistance at them. It is during times of fear and distress that we most need goods and services; ending production is not a solution.

The lockdown policy is not sustainable for 2 weeks, let alone the months or years that some in the press speak of. We need to put a stop to this NOW, so we can salvage what little remains of the economy and save people from the bigger disaster of starvation and mass impoverishment.

Indefinite: The policy mandates that Americans be locked away in their homes indefinitely. This lack of certainty in when the restrictions will be lifted, not the virus, is what has markets spooked. It is this lack of a clear deadline, this absence of an endpoint, this dearth of any light at the end of the tunnel, that breeds fear, depression, anxiety, and ultimately, rage. If those in charge were sincere about wanting to use the power of government to help rather than harm, they would be forthright in their aim and provide a clear date as to when this severe lockdown would be sunsetted.

The country is being turned into a prison state, without any objective indication as to when the time served will be sufficient. Ask yourself: would those who are elderly and vulnerable to this disease approve of living the last years of their life in a world where their children and grandchildren are subjected to a new dark age?

Isolation: This policy forces Americans to act against their own judgment. It is based on the idea that the average American is irrational, that the government knows best, and that unless there are draconian measures put in place, people cannot be convinced that electing to work from home or avoiding crowded places is in their own interest. Of course, the question as to how ignorant, irrational people can be trusted to elect enlightened leaders is a question that people who hold this view cannot and will not answer.

Instead, the approach of those who advocate for a lockdown is to substitute a gun for an argument and use the power of the state to coerce people into compliance.

What we seek is the following:

An immediate end to the coercive mandates by the government that businesses close and people remain at home. Instead, there should be a set of guidelines put in place that encourage elderly and vulnerable individuals to limit their exposure to others and to remain at home if they think the risk to themselves is too high to merit going out. 

It is clear that no long-term solution to this crisis can exist apart from rational, scientific people who will come up with a treatment and eventually, a vaccine. If we acknowledge the role that reason plays in finding a cure for this pandemic, we must embrace the only thing that can enable reason to function: freedom.

Otherwise, the people that perish from this pandemic will be in a better situation than those who survive it, as our wealthy republic will be replaced with an impoverished tyranny that will make the 20th century look like the Age of Enlightenment.