A Spanish Lesson for America
SPEAK OUT!
A Spanish Lesson for America
Art DeJong
A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, A Spanish Lesson for Europe, commended Spanish voters for rebelling against their dictatorial Covid era government. The “Spanish lesson” is one that the United States has been teaching the world for hundreds of years but failed to practice itself during the “Covid-era”.
Our founders, no strangers to pandemics, wars, disunity, and the struggle for survival, developed a resilient, decentralized constitutional system that, by releasing the ingenuity, ambition, and altruism of every free citizen, created a nation so peaceful and successful that it challenged the “old world” to follow its lead.
However, when faced by the Covid ”emergency,” we abandoned this system and reverted to the worst possible system, the arbitrary orders by panicked or self-serving politicians, bureaucrats, and their corporate cronies.
We all paid the price--suffering incalculable damage from draconian lockdowns, one size fits all mandates, and politically formulated treatment protocols. Now, rather than learning from the painful lessons, the chaos continues as we turn the old, authoritarian sledge hammers loose on our energy and transportation sectors.
The failure of the Covid era policies illustrate that just like we cannot have liberty without law, we cannot have unity and prosperity without our decentralized, constitutional system. As Spain appears to be coming to its senses, I suggest a more appropriate headline for the lesson to be, A Spanish Lesson for America.
Art DeJong, Sheboygan