Give me liberty or give me a mild fever

We will remember this time as the Great Media-Driven Panphobia of 2020.

The British prime minister recovered from his bout with the virus.  ABC (Australia) has the story:

The 55-year-old UK leader spent three nights in the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened.

He was moved back to a regular ward on Thursday evening (local time) and his office said he was in “the early phase of his recovery”.

Sen. Rand Paul also recovered.  CBN News:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said Tuesday that he has recovered from the coronavirus and has started volunteering at a hospital in his Kentucky hometown.

The Republican lawmaker tested positive for the virus in March, becoming the first case of COVID-19 in the US Senate.

So just how deadly is the virus?  Though comparisons are looked down on because analogies have to be exact,  we can still learn from another fever that swept through the land.  The Centers for Disease Control on the swine flu of 2009 in the USA (emphasis added):

During the pandemic, CDC provided estimates of the numbers of 2009 H1N1 cases, hospitalizations and deaths on seven different occasions. Final estimates were published in 2011. These final estimates were that from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010 approximately 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (8868-18,306) occurred in the United States due to pH1N1.

Yes, every death is tragic for the surviving family members, as it is with this present virus, but in proportion to the total number of people who actually got H1N1, a tiny fraction of one percent of deaths was remarkably low.  Now, the fear-mongers will tell us the coronavirus is much worse than the swine flu virus.  Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t.  The reports are contradictory. 

Whichever virus is worse, we did not shut down the entire economy during the swine flu.  We did not capitulate to county officials who have ordered everyone in my county to wear masks.  I value personal liberty over media-driven panphobia.  What will happen to me if I don’t wear one?  Will I get handcuffed or ticketed?  It is good to save lives, but what about wrecking lives through an economic meltdown?  The government has no right to shut down churches, either, based on unreliable computer projections.  We did not do this during the H1N1 pandemic. 

Yes, it is wise to take precautions, so wash your hands frequently, put on hand-sanitizer if you must, and wear your mask if you see the need.  That’s your (wise) personal choice.  But America as a whole has lost her way.  It is stunning to see how quickly she gave in to the government controlling her free citizens.  We are a long way from Patrick Henry’s declaration. 

The only positive here is that we now know from observation and in fast motion how bad it is when the government runs the economy.  The government ruins it.

Please see James Malcolm Arlandson’s expanded website where he has posted: Does God Cause Natural Disasters to Punish People Today?America’s First Government Meeting Begins with Prayer, Two Oaths to God in Colonial Virginia House of BurgessesWhy Tithing Does Not Apply to New Covenant Believers.

We will remember this time as the Great Media-Driven Panphobia of 2020.

The British prime minister recovered from his bout with the virus.  ABC (Australia) has the story:

The 55-year-old UK leader spent three nights in the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened.

He was moved back to a regular ward on Thursday evening (local time) and his office said he was in “the early phase of his recovery”.

Sen. Rand Paul also recovered.  CBN News:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said Tuesday that he has recovered from the coronavirus and has started volunteering at a hospital in his Kentucky hometown.

The Republican lawmaker tested positive for the virus in March, becoming the first case of COVID-19 in the US Senate.

So just how deadly is the virus?  Though comparisons are looked down on because analogies have to be exact,  we can still learn from another fever that swept through the land.  The Centers for Disease Control on the swine flu of 2009 in the USA (emphasis added):

During the pandemic, CDC provided estimates of the numbers of 2009 H1N1 cases, hospitalizations and deaths on seven different occasions. Final estimates were published in 2011. These final estimates were that from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010 approximately 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (8868-18,306) occurred in the United States due to pH1N1.

Yes, every death is tragic for the surviving family members, as it is with this present virus, but in proportion to the total number of people who actually got H1N1, a tiny fraction of one percent of deaths was remarkably low.  Now, the fear-mongers will tell us the coronavirus is much worse than the swine flu virus.  Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t.  The reports are contradictory. 

Whichever virus is worse, we did not shut down the entire economy during the swine flu.  We did not capitulate to county officials who have ordered everyone in my county to wear masks.  I value personal liberty over media-driven panphobia.  What will happen to me if I don’t wear one?  Will I get handcuffed or ticketed?  It is good to save lives, but what about wrecking lives through an economic meltdown?  The government has no right to shut down churches, either, based on unreliable computer projections.  We did not do this during the H1N1 pandemic. 

Yes, it is wise to take precautions, so wash your hands frequently, put on hand-sanitizer if you must, and wear your mask if you see the need.  That’s your (wise) personal choice.  But America as a whole has lost her way.  It is stunning to see how quickly she gave in to the government controlling her free citizens.  We are a long way from Patrick Henry’s declaration. 

The only positive here is that we now know from observation and in fast motion how bad it is when the government runs the economy.  The government ruins it.

Please see James Malcolm Arlandson’s expanded website where he has posted: Does God Cause Natural Disasters to Punish People Today?America’s First Government Meeting Begins with Prayer, Two Oaths to God in Colonial Virginia House of BurgessesWhy Tithing Does Not Apply to New Covenant Believers.

via American Thinker Blog

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