On April 15, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, reported to Congress on the latest status of our progress in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Jim Jordan, a congressman from Ohio, spent five minutes grilling Fauci about whether protestors spread the virus. He complained that Fauci has had churches closed to help stop the spread of the virus, but implied that Fauci thought it was OK to permit protestors to assemble to protest.
Fauci repeatedly asserted that his only concern was that the virus spreads quicker in a crowd, especially if there is no social distancing or mask wearing. He was speaking as a health professional only. He did not care what kind of group or the political nature of the group.
This did not stop the badgering from Jim Jordan, however. Jordan implied that assembly in Democratic protests did not get Fauci’s prohibition, whereas assembly in conservative churches did. Jordan did not understand that health science (and science in general) is politically neutral and must be politically neutral. The coronavirus does not care what political party or what religion you belong to.
A second complaint by Jordan was that during the whole year of spreading COVID-19, the health establishment has blocked or taken away the civil liberties of all Americans by the restrictions forced upon us. This complaint belies a deeper political philosophy position that is all too prevalent among conservatives. What it signifies is the expression of a troublesome libertarian political philosophy.
Simply put, libertarians focus almost exclusively on the priority of individual freedoms. This contrasts with liberalism, which emphasizes individual freedom but adds an equal concern for the common good. The common good implies a concern for the well-being of the community, the city, the state and in its widest reference, the nation.
If you are a Republican libertarian, like Jim Jordan, you only care about yourself and your loyal friends. Your main concerns are your civil liberties. Civil liberties as a libertarian means you can do basically anything you want to do and the hell with everyone else. If I do not want to wear a mask, the hell with you.
This sounds really cruel, but it is in fact a reality that we see over and over again and have seen especially in last year’s Donald Trump rallies. It expresses the idea that “All I want to do is what I want to do.” “I don’t care what you want to do as long as you leave me alone to do what I want to do.” This is liberty carried to its extreme.
The real irony is that this form of libertarianism is often coupled with conservatism, of which there are several kinds. There are economic conservatives. There are religious conservatives. There are cultural conservatives, among others. (I do not pretend to know them all.) Most of these kinds of conservatism also embrace various traditions, which may or may not conflict with their libertarianism, and there may be various forms of conservatism that are not libertarian in nature.
Liberals, in general, have a concern for people that seems to be missing in libertarians. Classical liberals are very close to conservatives. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is an example, but he is still more liberal than conservative. Since the time of Franklin Roosevelt, however, liberal Democrats have a been the key force behind saving our economy from economic crises like the Great Depression and the Great Recession, by legislating progressive liberal programs. These progressive programs put into place by Democrats have defined American liberalism.
Programs like Social Security and Medicare have moved liberals toward a social liberal position, which must be separated from a socialist democratic position. Many of these categories are very unsatisfactory and where the boundaries are is worthy of argument. Liberals are not socialists, although people like Bernie Sanders claim a democratic socialist position.
Whatever the Democrats are, the real problem is with the libertarian Republicans who have built this selfish uncaring attitude into too many of their policy positions. Often, they are more concerned with the financial balance sheet or hanging onto power rather than the welfare and living conditions of ordinary Americans.
Gary Leimback
Gary Leimback lives in Salt Lake City and would like to see people show the same care towards children, adolescents, and other adults that they initially show towards newborn babies.