Yesterday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner shut down the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, an event that had an estimated economic impact of $227 million in 2019.
David Persse, the city’s public health authority, said,
We’re doing this to save lives. What we are trying to do through these very aggressive and, yes, painful decisions, is to slow down the virus.
As we mentioned just two days ago, the real danger from COVID-19 isn’t the disease itself, but the restrictions on individual liberty that governments are enacting in the name of “public health.” Turner’s action serves as a glaring and ominous example.
When government places restrictions and controls on individuals, it reduces their freedom of choice. It prevents them from acting as they think best. Rather than protect the freedom of individuals to choose their values and act accordingly, Turner and his ilk want to eliminate individual choice.
If an individual wants to attend the livestock show and rodeo (or any gathering of people), and he is willing to assume the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, the flu virus, or anything else, government officials have no moral right to stop him. But instead of allowing individuals to make such choices, Turner and his ilk are eliminating the possibility of choice.
Those most at risk from COVID-19–the elderly, those with compromised immune systems, those with respiratory problems or similar health issues–comprise a relative small percentage of the population. Healthy individuals under 65 do not seem to have much risk from the disease. Those most at risk must take the appropriate precautions to protect themselves, and that includes avoiding large crowds, such as the livestock show and rodeo.
The proper purpose of government is the protection of our rights–our freedom to choose our values and act accordingly, so long as we respect the freedom of others to do the same. There is no such thing as a right to be free from exposure to disease. Such a “right” would be absurd, impossible to enforce, and lead to the abrogation of all freedom.
Those most at risk gain nothing by denying others the freedom to choose to attend and enjoy the livestock show and rodeo. If those most at risk choose to do so, that is their choice. And if those who are at little risk choose to go, that is also their choice. But Turner has denied everyone the freedom to choose for themselves. He has made a choice for everyone.
The sad irony is that, in the name of saving lives, Turner’s actions will destroy many lives. Countless individuals and businesses are going to suffer horribly with the cancellation of the livestock show and rodeo. These victims will be hard to identify, and they will get little, if any, attention from the media and government officials. But that doesn’t make their suffering any less real or any less destructive.
In the coming weeks and months, we will probably hear government officials pat themselves on the back as they trot out arbitrary numbers showing how many lives they saved from cancelling the livestock show and rodeo. And in the meantime, the victims of their authoritarian policies will suffer in obscurity because Mayor Turner decided that he should make choices for hundreds of thousands of other individuals.
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