For the past ten months, the American economy has been slowly decimated by government edicts and lock downs. Countless businesses have been forced to close, and many will never reopen. Millions were thrown out of work and are unable meet their financial obligations, such as rent, a mortgage, or medical expenses. Despite this economic carnage, few have raised their voices in protest. And even fewer have expressed moral outrage over the government’s actions. Why?
To express moral outrage, one must judge an action, policy, or individual as being unjust. But what one judges to be just or unjust depends on one’s moral standard. Sadly, the dominant moral standard in America today makes widespread moral outrage regarding the economic destruction nearly impossible. To most Americans, the lock down is not an injustice; it is an application of their morality.
When the lock down began, government officials, celebrities, and newscasters continually reminded us that we are all in this together and each of us must do our part to slow the spread of the novel virus. The meaning was clear: We should sacrifice our own interests to the “public interest.” And that meant accepting the fact that our lives were being upended, and in many cases destroyed. Most Americans have accepted this, if only grudgingly, because they believe that sacrifice to others is the moral ideal.
Those who refuse to a wear mask and social distance are labeled selfish grandma killers. They are, we are supposed to believe, thinking only of themselves and disregarding the well-being of others. They are, we are supposed to believe, placing their own interests before the interests of others. But such individuals are neither selfish nor placing their interests before others. They are engaging in reckless behavior that threatens their well-being and that of those they care about.
While expressions of moral outrage towards the government’s lock down have been rare, the “mask rebels” are often the targets of moral outrage. They are, in the eyes of most Americans, defying the dominant morality. They are, in the eyes of most Americans, refusing to sacrifice for others.
And so, the government officials who have destroyed millions of lives by forcing us to sacrifice are widely regarded as heroes, while those who are “self-assertive” are regarded as villains. Government officials have acted on the morality that most Americans accept. To express moral outrage at the lock down, one must reject the morality of sacrifice.