One of the mantras repeated by government officials, celebrities, and news anchors during the lockdown has been, “We’re all in this together.” The meaning is clear: Each of us must obey government edicts about wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing our hands every thirty minutes. Each of us must suffer and sacrifice in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The goal of the mantra is equally clear: Create social pressure to obey the government’s mandates and prohibitions. The recalcitrant are portrayed as self-centered grandma killers.
Those repeating the mantra want us to believe that there is something noble in universal suffering and sacrifice. They want us to believe that nobody should complain about the isolation and deprivation being forced upon us because we’re all in this together. But there is nothing noble about the misery and economic destruction imposed by the lockdown.
Life is not about suffering and sacrifice. It is about producing values and enjoying them. Life is about pursuing happiness. The lockdown has made the pursuit of happiness virtually impossible. We are no longer free to choose our values and pursue them. We are no longer free to produce and trade values. We can only produce and trade on terms established by government officials.
We must demand better from government officials. We must demand that, rather than imposing universal suffering and sacrifice, they protect our freedom to pursue our own happiness. And that means protecting our freedom to produce and trade.