No Holiday For Everyone’s Favorite Virus

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

 That is the second sentence in the Declaration of Independence, the signing of that document on July 4th, 1776 is the national holiday we will celebrate this coming Saturday. 

That one sentence has been called “one of the best-known sentences in the English language,” containing “the most potent and consequential words in American history.” The sentence has come to represent a moral standard to which the United States should and has strived towards. This view was notably promoted by Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy and argued that it is a statement of principles through which the Constitution should be interpreted.

 As for the guys who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and it was an all white guys document written by Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Sherman, and Livingston, they were upset with the current 1776 situation.

 They were mad at King George III for doing stuff like messing with taxes, messing up trade, appointing judges they did not like, inciting domestic insurrection, using the army in non-army matters and stopping immigration. Maybe you should read it or read it again, it is not a long document and the language is pretty straight forward. 

 The writers’ idea of who were the men created equal were guys like them or real close to them. That idea of who gets to be equal in this American equality that we aspire to as a nation has changed. And is still changing. And that is a good thing as equal means equal. 

 What is changing also and is not a good thing is everyone’s favorite corona virus is still moving on like a boss. It doesn’t care. It is not taking a holiday.  And what we’re doing or not doing seems to be not effective enough. The shutdown back in March, April, and May did slow a rapid spread, thus saving our medical professionals in most places, from being totally overwhelmed. 

 Back then several measures were put into place, both by city officials and later the Governor to mitigate the spread of the virus. The result was a leveling off of new cases, or a “flattening of the curve” as health experts hoped. However, the state’s top health expert, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, is revisiting concerns over the spread of coronavirus in Mississippi, warning a recent spike in cases could just be the beginning as the state transitions into what could be a “catastrophic” fall.

This weekend as you celebrate our collective independence, remember the collective health of your fellow Americans depends on you doing your part. Be safe in your freedom.