No Small Government Conservatives in a Foxhole
I think we all know that there are
going to be many changes in our society and work lives due to the coronavirus.
Some seem obvious like more people regularly working from home, most people continuing
to use online delivery for a lot of household items and maybe online education
and telemedicine will become more mainstream. These will all have large impacts
on the economy and depending on your job, some good and some bad. Also on our personal lives - hello frugality, savings
accounts and family dinners. There are certain to be some unexpected changes as
well.
There is a famous saying in the military
that there are no atheists in a foxhole, meaning that when one’s life is on the
line even the most devout non-believers suddenly become believers. I wonder if
a version of that will occur in our regard to the government after this mess.
Perhaps we will find that there are no small government conservatives in a pandemic
foxhole.
Was anyone else shocked, amazed and
perhaps appalled at how fast things collapsed after the onset of the virus? In
a little over a month some 30 million Americans are unemployed. How can that
be?! Didn’t any of the companies have several months’ worth of expenses per the
most basic advice? On the other hand, most Americans themselves don’t have any kind
of saving to that extent either with most living paycheck to paycheck by
necessity (assuming you include large cell phone and cable bills and eating out
necessities.) So, one of the lessons that big slaps upside the head like this
pandemic tell us is that modern life and certainly the modern economy is an
awfully fragile – one might say flimsy - thing with just a cascade of bad
outcomes. Thank God for big government, right?!
Unlike most of our modern democratic country
counter parts, we Americans are famous for our distrust of big gub’mint. Instilled
in us by Founding Fathers, all of whom were the wealthy elite of the day, we
have proudly carried forward that tradition for some 233 years with the only exceptions
being . . . well, every time trouble comes our way. During wars,
recessions, hurricanes, floods and generally bad times the good Uncle Sam is
there to bail us out. And that’s okay, that’s how governments are supposed to
work. As long as there have been governments there has been an expectation that the government would help the people and the people would support the government. (Well, mostly.) Nothing has changed –
except the people. I should say, except how people make a living.
When our constitution was written the
country was 90 percent farm and rural, today it’s 20% rural and 80% urban – as is
most of the world. And that brings me to why our economy and, to a certain
extent, our society is so fragile. Also, why big government shouldn’t be a
surprise.
Most of us work for “the man.” In a nutshell, we can train and go to school but in
the end “the man” is responsible for providing jobs. It worked pretty well
for a long time but something has broken down in the system the last 30 or 40
years; a lot of the jobs aren’t that great and the middle class is being
downsized.
So here we are, a raging pandemic
wiping out jobs, in many cases the jobs that weren’t the highest paying
(although suddenly most valuable, as anyone who goes to the grocery store or
has food delivered would vouch for.) And there is no one except the government
that can step in to help our friends and neighbors. I mean a big, burly government,
one that we hate every other day of the year. One that constantly intrudes in
our lives telling us what to do, how fast we can drive, how much we can pollute,
who we can’t discriminate against. You know, BIG government. Sadly, and I do
mean sadly, we can’t have it both ways. There is much to dislike about our
government: the hypocrisy of our so-called political leaders, the intrusion
into our lives and the corruption that money has caused. It stinks. But when we
need several trillion (borrowed) dollars to save our economy’s bacon there is
only one place to go: the government. Like so many things in life, it means you
can’t have your cake and eat it too – you have to take the bad with the good
On the other hand, that doesn't mean
we can’t do anything about the “bad.” As far as I know we still have the right
to vote. Maybe it’s time to pay attention and start demanding more from our
government. Not in money or favors. Not for political parties and partisanship.
Not for special interest groups. We need to demand more leadership and commitment
to doing what’s right it for the average American, like you and me. We are not
powerless unless you just give up!
In the meantime, friends, keep your
heads down in that foxhole - from both virus and the government - and stay safe.
This too shall pass.
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