Heard an argument recently that the United States was founded on principles of freedom, so our government can’t force people to stay inside or wear a mask because “this isn’t China or North Korea”

Since I’ve got the time, let’s dig into that

First of all, we need to completely overlook the fact that this country was founded on the systematic genocide of Indigenous peoples and the slavery of kidnapped Africans

Freedom!!! YERRRRRRR

Secondly, the principles of freedom are founded in balance with laws. Laws exist to create order, rights exist to preserve freedom. But even Thanos understood that balance was required

The original argument was founded on the idea of personal freedom being balanced with personal responsibility

I can’t believe that this still seems to need explaining, but personal choice only equalling personal responsibilty becomes irrelevant IN A PANDEMIC

In a pandemic, the disease in question is passed involuntarily. If we had a choice, I really don’t think there would be a pandemic. So personal choice now becomes community responsibility because the choices of the individual affect the entire community

Think of it similarly to a speed limit

When you drive your car and crash it into a tree, your personal choice does bear personal responsibility that mostly only impacts you

But when you drive 95 through a school zone at 3 PM, your personal freedom and choice endangers others

That’s why LAWS and RULES exist. Because too much freedom results in anarchy and social chaos

Laws and rules are almost entirely dependent upon situation and context, which is why a court system exists - so that situations and context can be interpreted and established

This is to say that laws change based on situation. So IN A PANDEMIC, it should be expected that the laws and rules would change

Because, just as a reminder, we are IN A PANDEMIC

So now the question becomes who gets to make the laws and the rules

If you believe the government makes the rules, great. If you believe the social majority make the rules, great. Either way, rules get made through a system that is greater than just personal choice

See also: this

The moral of the story here is this: When personal choice affects more than just the person making the choice, laws and rules both should be and are implemented to protect those who would be affected by that choice

In this current PANDEMIC, choices such as not wearing a mask, or joining a gathering larger than 10 people, or not actually quarantining have consequences that affect the community. So rules and laws to prevent those actions are put in place

Now, as far as being different than China or North Korea, those rules and laws aren’t being made by one central leader. They are made and enforced - theoretically - by a bevvy of different government officials