ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The prevailing rule of thought in America is that the Second Amendment is the civil liberty right that underscores and preserves all the others — that no matter the actions government takes or the overreaches government attempts, it’s that handy, dandy, good ol’ right-to-carry that will come through in the end and save citizens’ freedoms.
There’s truth to that.
But the Second Amendment won’t help with this COVID-19 madness.
With all the unconstitutional actions coming fast and furious from government on the wings of the coronavirus right now, the only hope America has is God. Simply put: A spiritual revival, the type and intensity and size of which history has never before seen, is all that will preserve this nation, this nation’s individual freedoms, this nation’s constitutional system of law and order and limited government — from utter internally induced destruction. Why’s that?
It’s hard to hit and kill a virus with a bullet.
It’s hard to fire a bullet at an enemy that’s more concept than physical — an enemy who uses a clever mix of fear and altruism to convince citizens to voluntarily fasten the very chains that enslave.
Face masks? They’re supposed to be the means of protecting others and self from the spread of the coronavirus. They’re not scientifically proven to do any such thing, of course — but those who argue otherwise, or outright rebel, or who simply try to exercise their free citizen right to self-determine medical care and health-related protections, are shamed and condemned as uncaring of others. They’re browbeaten into believing a face mask-less face is akin to purposely infecting others with a deadly disease.
They’re forced to fake an altruism that’s based on nonsense.
They’re forced to comply or face condemnation.
And as of most recently: They’re forced into compliance or face the loss of shopping rights at various stores nationwide.
Who’s the enemy there?
It’s more of the same with the stay-at-home orders, the emerging contact tracing and looming surveillance of smartphone-carrying individuals, the government-imposed shutdowns of business: These are all acts taken by government supposedly in citizens’ best interests, for the good of the nation as a whole. Those who question are deemed troublemakers; those who rebel are labeled selfish.
Who’s the enemy there?
It’s more of the same with the scores of newly hired, newly trained, newly empowered health bureaucrats who actually come to home and hearth to ensure those citizens who test positive for the coronavirus are voluntarily willing to self-quarantine — and if not, to force them to self-quarantine. Hogwash? Nope. It’s happening. Ask the Linscotts in Kentucky.
Elizabeth and Isaiah Linscott of Radcliff were just forcibly quarantined — let’s use the right word here, jailed — in their own home after Elizabeth tested positive for the coronavirus but refused to sign a form agreeing to ask health department officials’ permission to leave her residence for any reason in the next two weeks.
When she wouldn’t voluntarily sign, health authorities went to court and obtained an order that allowed law enforcement to shackle both Elizabeth and Isaiah with ankle-monitoring devices to ensure they wouldn’t leave their home without permission for two weeks.
Who’s the enemy there?
Which mole to whack today?
America’s system of individual liberties was always reliant on a society that set God first, government second — subservient — and that recognized the inextricable tie between freedom and moral leadership. Founders warned the democratic-republic would only last so long as its people were virtuous and principled, and only so long as its duly elected and chosen politicians were constrained by the same set of virtues and principles.
It’s the concept of God-given rights, versus government-granted freedoms.
It’s the idea that politicians can’t save; individuals endowed by their Creator with certain rights, however, can accomplish all.
The coronavirus, with all its accompanying fears, has thrown all those freedoms and freedom-thinking principles to the side, and ushered in a new culture that calls for collectivism over individualism — that insists on compliance from the individual for the benefit of the greater good. Science be danged. Truths be hanged. The enemy of freedom is everywhere; the enemy of freedom is nowhere.
The Second Amendment won’t save America from this crippling fate.
Only God — only mass spiritual reawakening and revival — can save America from this enemy. Only God can save the country from this free fall. In God We Trust: It’s not just a national motto. It’s the only warfare that’ll work in today’s wicked times.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.
