It is very easy for proponents of big government to use the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic to chip away at our rights and in the process, exercise even more control over our lives. There are some who believe somewhat perversely, that you should never allow a crisis to go to waste. The coronavirus is one such opportunity that they have in their quest to remake society. However, we the people should not allow the coronavirus hysteria to be used to introduce intrusive rules that some obviously crave but could not implement hitherto in the knowledge such measures would not find the requisite levels of public support.
They therefore see the powers that they now possess, as cover to finally curb some of the liberties that they have always detested. This is why we should tread carefully on the notion of “new normal” because with the progress of time, it may come to mean different things to different people. It may be a prelude to a subtle campaign to place limits on our individual liberties under the guise of saving us from public health emergencies. So the coronavirus could very well turn out to be a dry run of what is in store down the line.
And we could see that during the last two lockdown episodes, some in the corridors of power hold the view that a few liberties and natural rights are somewhat dispensable. Chief among the liberties which were treated as non-core by our powerful bureaucrats were the freedom to run your own business, smoking, drinking and religious liberty. The fact that expanding religious services for example became the subject of a protracted and heated debate in parliament was a hint of its place in the pecking order as far as the powers-that-be are concerned. Even after lifting the lockdown, the number of people allowed for religious services was set arbitrarily and increased only after public outcry. What is scary is that in discussing religion, they went about in an unconcerned manner and saw no need to consult the clergy. It was so Soviet-like and the church and its congregants were treated like the great unwashed. The ball is in now in the clergy’s court to ask for their place at the table and ensure that the time honoured tradition of separation of church and state continues to be the hallmark of our society.
The same cavalier attitude was on full display again when it came to banning cigarette sales. No one saw the need to provide empirical evidence for such an action. At least in South Africa, a senior cabinet minister made a feeble attempt to link smoking to the spread of the virus. However banning cigarettes in both South Africa and Botswana led to expensive illicit products which in turn forced smokers to share the zol evenmore! So in addition to encroaching on the rights of smokers, the government triggered a price increase for smokers at a time when the ability to generate income was already extremely difficult because of the lockdown.
When it came to alcohol, the respect for consumers was not any different. It was the nanny state all over again. Drinking was driven underground and scarce police resources went into chasing these illicit brewers and bootleggers all because of lack of respect for individual liberties.
You have to contrast all these invasions of civil liberties with how government viewed its business during lockdowns. There was a pervasive view that all government work is essential. Save for schools, pretty much everything that that the government does, went on with little disruption. You would have thought that because the bulk of what the government does is not productive but alas.
However we should remember that power is like a drug and we should not allow the government to take too much of it away from us, lest they get addicted. Once they are addicted they won’t give it back it.
