It’s not the politicians who have the power to reopen America, or at least the parts that are now closed. It’s individuals, families, businesses, and religious congregations.
By Ira Stoll
This piece was originally published at Reason.org.
In the fight between the governors and President Trump over who has the authority to reopen America, the politicians have it wrong.
It’s not the politicians who have the power to reopen America, or at least the parts that are now closed. It’s individuals, families, businesses, and religious congregations.
The politicians can help by eventually lifting lockdown orders and school closures. That will make it easier for individuals, families, businesses, and religious congregations to resume more normal patterns of activity without the hassle of a legal challenge.
But when America reopens, it won’t be the response to top-down orders from politicians. That’s not how America works, not how the world works. If the president or governor says “open” and hospitals and funeral homes are clogged with Covid-19 critical cases and fatalities, plenty of people are going to remain in place based on the assessment that it’s not worth risking death to comply with some politician’s restart timeline. America is not a light switch or a sink faucet that can be turned on and off at will.
As Nate Silver, who has been an admirably level-headed guide to the pandemic throughout, put it, “people will vote with their feet.”
What are the relevant motives?
Children want to see their parents. Parents want to see their children. Grandparents want to see their grandchildren. People who haven’t yet started families want to go on in-person dates.
Business owners want to make money. They’ve invested labor, capital, and reputation in stores, restaurants, factories, and offices that are now empty or idle. The profit motive is a strong motive. The first restaurant or bar or theater or concert hall or museum to re-open, if it does so safely, will draw a crowd of paying customers.
The religious motive is also strong. The New Boston Post, in a memorable editorial, put it this way: “Christians need churches to tend to their souls….[C]hurch leaders need to begin the process of reopening their churches. By ‘process’ we mean series of steps that lead to churches eventually reopening their doors to anyone who wants to come….Each bishop or pastor or church council should come up with a plan today that sets forth a date certain when the church these people administer is going to open.”
The editorial went on: “Church leaders should begin this process without any regard for the civil authorities. The civil authorities have their proper role, but it is limited. Our federal and state constitutions explicitly limit the role of government when it comes to religion. Can governors order churches to close? No.”
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is editor of FutureOfCapitalism.com and author of JFK, Conservative.