Morality of the Coronavirus Shutdown

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What are your opinions on the coronavirus shutdown? Although I think a temporary shutdown was, to some extent, necessary as we do not want to overcrowd the hospitals. But I keep feeling as though the shutdown, particularly in places like Illinois, is becoming communistic as they are “bullying” people who are not abiding by the rules. Is this a threat to freedom? Does the government have the power to do this to it’s citizens? In addition, this long of a shutdown is very hard on our economy. What do y’all think?
 
That’s not communism. There’s a long history of right wing governments being just as oppressive as communistic ones.

It’s not hard to square Catholic morality with the shutdown. Render unto Caesar.
 
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Thank you very much for replying! Do you think that it is okay that our government is shutting down our churches? I don’t think that right necessarily belongs to Caesar. Please let me know what you think, I appreciate your conversation.
 
As I write this, there have been 53,931 deaths and 939,097 cases. That’s in essentially 90 days. More American deaths than in all of WWI apparently. And you’re claiming that governmental measures meant to protect the population are “ communistic?” I wonder what the death toll would have been without the mandatory shutdowns.
 
Thanks for posting the topic. Sorry if I came off anyway.

As for Churches, I personally believe if grocery stores are open they should have churches open. And that’s not even approaching the value of the sacraments. I believe social distancing laws would have to be in place. At the same time, we must follow our bishops.
 
I live in Illinois albeit not in a region that is severely affected. The government and the governor has pretty broad emergency powers when it comes to health emergencies. I would rather see a greater initial push and lessening it as allowed by reason and good judgement. I’m not happy with it, but I will gladly live with it for now. Ideally, closings and restrictions would be more tailored, but in a event as this there is not enough time for that consideration.

I am embarrassed, however, that our State asked for Federal money to cover its other debts in the name of “coronavirus “

As for churches, I think it is more a matter of group size than an attack on religion.
 
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they are “bullying” people who are not abiding by the rules.
What do you mean by this? You mean citing people who break the orders? If so, that would just be enforcing the rules they put in place. Incidentally, I don’t think they do enough of this. Plenty of people openly defy the orders, and the police let it go. Why put orders in place if you aren’t going to enforce consistently?
 
“bullying” people who are not abiding by the rules.
Goodness! Is it “bullying” to issue a ticket to someone breaking the speed limit? To arrest a shoplifters?

The hospitals in some places have been overstressed as it is. Would you rather have 3 or 4 times as many hospitalizations, and have the local healthcare systems completely fall apart? Exactly how would that help the economy?
 
What are your opinions on the coronavirus shutdown? Although I think a temporary shutdown was, to some extent, necessary as we do not want to overcrowd the hospitals. But I keep feeling as though the shutdown, particularly in places like Illinois, is becoming communistic as they are “bullying” people who are not abiding by the rules. Is this a threat to freedom? Does the government have the power to do this to it’s citizens? In addition, this long of a shutdown is very hard on our economy. What do y’all think?
You don’t know what communism is.
As for the shutdown, I’m fine with it. Seems like a good way to keep people safe.
 
The concern, I believe, is that (in the United States, at least,) these orders are a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution right to peaceably assemble.

The United States was founded on the principles of individual responsibility (i.e. after taking into account the various facts, each person takes the precautions he finds most prudent, and accepts the risks) and accepting that the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution may also cause hardships, but that the net result of these freedoms is beneficial.

Thus, I believe that the concerns of the original poster are that the various relevant governmental bodies are overstepping these established boundaries in a manner that is unlawful (i.e. in violation of the Constitution) and potentially ultimately detrimental.

Ultimately, the greatest recourse any government has to enforcing its will is violence. Taking into account the events of history, it is reasonable to assume that if these people who are going to playgrounds, beaches, etc. in violation of these apparently unlawful orders resisted arrest, the police would use violence to enforce the will of the government. Allowing this precedent to continue unchecked could be problematic in the event that it be weaponized in the future e.g. by declaring that Catholic assemblies are dangerous due to their beliefs.

As Catholics, we have a responsibility to take care of one another. This is a responsibility that ultimately cannot be abrogated and given entirely to a governmental body. I suspect the topic creator holds a position similar to the following: Those of us who are at low risk of infection should return to functioning in society, taking precautions to avoid spreading the infection. High risk individuals should voluntarily self quarantine as much as they feel is prudent.
 
It’s not as simple as saying the government is right or wrong. While it is commendable that our elected officials are attempting to preserve life, some things that have been reported as Coronavirus “response” go beyond the bounds of sensibility. Just as you don’t have an absolute freedom of speech (you can’t scream FIRE in a movie theater), you don’t have an absolute freedom of assembly, such as when it would constitue a health crisis. The morality of the shutdown would then depend on if the government is still working with the best information that millions of people will die, vs they are overplaying their hand and are still mandating stay at home orders even as the threat has past. Unfortunately it comes down to trust. I would like to trust that our government has our best interest at heart, but part of me is suspicious.
 
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40.png
Batman2.0:
is becoming communistic
Must have some alternate definition for communism that we are not aware of.
I think the OP has a pretty solid understanding of the term used.
noun. … a person who is regarded as supporting politically leftist or subversive causes.
Dictionary.com › browse › commun…
Communistic | Definition of Communistic at Dictionary.com
 
My opinion; this whole thing has been exasperated by election year politics. A couple of weeks to prepare and better understand what we are dealing with made some sense. At this point it is the media and democratic politicians playing offense and the republicans playing defense, all at the expense of those who are not essential now and the future of everyone.
 
My Archbishop canceled all Masses before my state had a stay at home order.
 
The concern, I believe, is that (in the United States, at least,) these orders are a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution right to peaceably assemble.

The United States was founded on the principles of individual responsibility (i.e. after taking into account the various facts, each person takes the precautions he finds most prudent, and accepts the risks) and accepting that the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution may also cause hardships, but that the net result of these freedoms is beneficial.

Thus, I believe that the concerns of the original poster are that the various relevant governmental bodies are overstepping these established boundaries in a manner that is unlawful (i.e. in violation of the Constitution) and potentially ultimately detrimental.

Ultimately, the greatest recourse any government has to enforcing its will is violence. Taking into account the events of history, it is reasonable to assume that if these people who are going to playgrounds, beaches, etc. in violation of these apparently unlawful orders resisted arrest, the police would use violence to enforce the will of the government. Allowing this precedent to continue unchecked could be problematic in the event that it be weaponized in the future e.g. by declaring that Catholic assemblies are dangerous due to their beliefs.

As Catholics, we have a responsibility to take care of one another. This is a responsibility that ultimately cannot be abrogated and given entirely to a governmental body. I suspect the topic creator holds a position similar to the following: Those of us who are at low risk of infection should return to functioning in society, taking precautions to avoid spreading the infection. High risk individuals should voluntarily self quarantine as much as they feel is prudent.
Problem is the frequency with which people contract (and therefore are able to transmit) this particular disease without showing any symptoms at all, or experience a lengthy period before they start showing. Without widespread testing, we really can’t be terribly sure that any apparently asymptomatic person doesn’t have it and cannot pass it along.

Nor, given the number of cases of people who should definitely quarantine and self-isolate who don’t (and I know some such), can we simply rely on public good will and self-monitoring to keep it in check.
 
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