People seem to be forgetting we have a Constitution

It's sad to see what's become of America now that civics is no longer taught in our schools. Locking down the whole country is an idea that shouldn't even be seriously entertained, but it is.

Since the conservavirus pandemic began ravaging the U.S., cities and states have taken strong but temporary actions to prevent its spread. It was a hard lesson learned, but they had to learn it. I've known for a long time that some facilities are breeding grounds for germs, and nobody cared until now.

But there aren't many more restrictive measures that can be taken without violating the Constitution. Restrictions on assembly can be only very limited. You can't just lock down the whole country - or even a city. That would violate freedom of assembly. (Not that I trust the Trump regime to follow the Constitution.) Private gatherings and individual travel cannot be heavily restricted without violating the Constitution.

The lockdown sure isn't helping in Italy, where cases of the virus continue to explode. In South Korea, there have been far fewer limits on individual liberties since the pandemic began, and cases there are already declining - even though South Korea had perhaps the highest infection rate in the world.

If current measures in the U.S. end up being ineffective, it's because the pandemic is past the point where strong restrictions work. Why expand policies that don't work? Finding an effective drug to treat the virus would work. We'd have it by now if not for austerity and misdirected research funds. Pandemics do die down once enough people have been exposed, but the death toll would only grow in the process. This makes finding new treatments all the more urgent.

I know of one country that hasn't reported any cases of this virus: North Korea. Living under a totalitarian system is not a price we should be paying to fight a pandemic.

I will follow what the Constitution says. In my America, we're supposed to have freedom to move about and gather - not be locked in our homes 24/7 in a failed attempt to stem a virus spread by government incompetence in the first place.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, the Cincinnati roadmeet that I am hosting on May 30 is still on. As it is a small gathering - not a large convention or festival - I and other attendees have decided it will not be canceled, no matter what. Barring my own illness, death, or incarceration, I will be in attendance, lockdown or not. I am a free person. Blind compliance is not patriotism.