As the new Sean Hannity book "Live Free or Die" is number one on the non-fiction best sellers list this week I can't help but think about how the title relates to our Country's situation with the COVID-19 virus. Our Country's battle between two very different belief systems of individual rights vs collective responsibility is being played out in our Country's response to the virus. The controversy over mask mandates is just one example. Countries that have a culture of social responsibility and cohesion have minimized the impact of the virus and those with a weak culture of social responsibility have suffered a disproportionate impact of the virus. The United States has been the best example of this reality. We, unfortunately, have had the virus impact us at the very time we have had a national leader that has combined the worse features of the conservative philosophy of minimizing collective action. Is it any surprise to see the virus continuing to escalate in Southern states while the states in the Northeast that were first impacted by the virus have the lowest levels of the virus. New York's dramatic shutdown is unlike any of the Southern states' responses to the virus. The adherence to a strong conservative philosophy of individual rights in the time of a pandemic will involve sacrificing human life rather than modify that philosophy.
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