Freedom isn’t free. No valuable thing is. Indeed, the value of anything is determined not just by it’s utility, but by its price tag as well. We treasure all the more the things we love, in part, because of what they cost us. Throughout our existence as a nation we have paid the price for freedom on many occasions, and each time its value rises. We are paying that price again. Were we to sacrifice freedom as other countries have, we could, no doubt, save more lives. But we are the country initiated with the words of Patrick Henry:

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”

That’s not just a bumper sticker or a motto for a license plate, it’s the expression of the national spirit of a people who, from their inception, have placed a greater value on Liberty, than on peace, security, or life itself. That is clearly not to say that Americans do not greatly desire peace, seek for security, embrace life; but they have not, and will never sacrifice ultimate liberty in the pursuit of these things. There are those who are offended that we are not like other nations in that regard. These almost seemed to revel in the effectiveness with which freedoms were curtailed, and foresee with hope a new dawn with ongoing centralized control of the citizenry for the welfare of all. Others posit that government overstepped from the beginning, and point to the crisis as evidence of how easily the nation is relegated to authoritarianism, they fear that we have lost forever the America we once knew. Both proclaim the oft repeated mantra; the one with giddy anticipation, the other with sorrow and dread; “Things will never be the same.”

It may be that both groups misunderstood Americans’ response to the crisis. Panic is not an unreasonable response in some situations. Anyone who has been in a car accident, or near accident, knows that one’s first response in such a case is a full stop. Often that full stop involves slamming on the brakes in what is known as a panic stop. If you had the time to evaluate, possibly the panic stop wasn’t completely necessary in a certain situation, but no one will fault someone for standing on the brakes in an emergency situation where human life is at stake. This was our response to the Covid 19 crisis. We hit the brakes, and we hit them hard. Some might think too hard, others might say we were slow to the brake pedal… well, we did what we did, and it seems as though the initial panic, where nothing but stopping matters, is beginning to subside. What happens next? Continuing with our car crash analogy, what does one do once the car is stopped? We ask our passengers, “Is everyone O.K.?” We can argue over whether someone was driving too fast, or whether the car was in tip top shape… but first: “Is everyone O.K.?” In America, everyone is not O.K. We would like to think that stopping the car was the end of the crisis, but as the panic subsides; we see that our sudden stop caused a broken nose for one passenger, another is in hysterics, the baby is crying… and the car is on fire. Single minded myopic panic is no longer the preferred response, it’s time for a calm and ordered response. In America, people are without jobs, without income; frustrated with typically unwieldy bureaucracies, uncertain of their futures. Suicide rates are likely to spike, depression may well be our next epidemic. Who knows what the result will be on the economy? Economists know about as much about this as the scientists knew about the pandemic; and it may be that our future selves will look back on this moment with chagrin, and lament that we acted too slowly. Many still have their jobs, and their paychecks, and it’s easier for them to demand a sacrifice they aren’t being required to make… yet. There are things you can put on hold, but childhood is not such a thing. In the monotony of adulthood, where one year is much like the last, we can forget that childhood is fleeting, and a year once lost… a season, a moment… is gone forever. It is not always our own liberty that we sacrifice on the altar of safety and security, but the liberty of our children. It is a sad society that sacrifices the well-being of its children for the comfort of its adults. These children are missing proms, graduations, romances, school, playing with friends, and the freedom of youth. The long marathon of adulthood looms on the horizon for them, and there is joy in that journey as well, but precious are the days of innocence, and we ought not spend our children’s treasure lightly.

The protests happening across the nation, the calls for restoring economic activity, the outrage over the temporary suspension of some basic rights; to the comfort of some, and the disappointment of others, show that the spirit of liberty is not dead in America. She panicked for a moment, and many acted foolishly. The toilet paper hoarders, and their counterparts in the government, the politicians who demanded massive quantities of ventilators, and hospital rooms that would never be used; the charlatans who took advantage of the situation to price gouge and cheat, and their counterparts in politics and the press, who take advantage of the situation to push their political agendas and damage their enemies; those paralyzed with fear who demonstrate just how self-important they consider themselves; and their counterparts in politics and the media, who forego leadership for advantage, and service for ratings; all these run rampant in the pandemonium, but it’s time for cooler heads to prevail, and America to rise again. It’s time for legislators and government to get back to work. If Walmart employees and firefighters were able to continue through the worst of the crisis; if health-care workers, nurses and doctors, were able to work under adverse conditions at the height of the pandemic; now that the curve is flattening, now that we know more of what it takes to deal with it, should not those who refer to themselves as public servants find a way to get back to the business of serving the public at every level. If government is crucial in a crisis, as so many insist, then as coordinators of our rebuilding, it seems logical that those in the far less risky positions of government can find a way to re-open government and develop ways to start getting back to business, even if its not quite business as usual. And once government is back in business, it’s time to find safe ways to get America back to business.

In the panic, we followed authority, because we are willing to temporarily set aside liberty for caution in a time of crisis. When the house is on fire, you follow the fireman’s orders without resenting his authoritarian tone. But that submission is short-lived, very short-lived in furiously independent America. As the smoke begins to clear, we see things that were done needlessly, or in a manner inconsistent with our Constitution. And now it’s time to fix those things, and to hold accountable those who were less than stellar in the performance of their duties. The cure for the pandemic might not yet be worse than the disease, but as with so many medicines there are some very serious side effects. Like the Hydra in Greek mythology, we have cut off the head of the monster and more have appeared. Our real work has only begun, the economy, our mental health, our spirituality, our society with each other, what to do with schools, what to do if our liberties and rights are threatened, what to do if the virus re-energizes, and a non-biased look at the virus itself and our response… our plate is full. But now that the panic has passed, we are up to the task, we have to be. We are Americans after all, one nation under God. We have in our history faced a bloody civil war, and come back from the brink united. We have suffered through The Great Depression, and rebounded to be the most prosperous and charitable nation on earth. We have endured the cataclysms of two World Wars, and emerged from the darkness as a light for the nations. Each of these trials and tribulations changed the world for us, and the fiery furnace made us a better people. So no, after this pandemic, things never will be the same, and that is some good that we can take away from this. For no weapon formed against us will prosper. Think not that a crisis will change the indomitable spirit of America, neither you who would welcome that nor you who dread it. We are a nation who grows dull and fat in prosperity, but shines in adversity. We set aside hatred, we join hands in cooperation, we do what needs to be done, without losing our souls in the process. Oh, there are the haters, the traitors, the cowards and the fools; but, for the most part, we are e pluribus, unum. We follow loyally those who would lead us, but we will have no kings. We will not bow the knee to politicians, media, domineering busy-bodies, or a virus. We are a people who can suffer much, stand strong with courage, set aside fear to serve each other; but, for better or worse, we do not long tolerate captivity.

“The politicians all make speeches while the news men all take note,
And they exaggerate the issues as they shove them down our throats;
Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or floats?
Well I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote.

Well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped from whispering through the fence,
You know every move I make, or is that just coincidence?
Will you try to make my way of life a little less like jail,
If I promise to make tapes and slides and send them through the mail?”
Larry Norman (1972)