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Gallup Sun

Friday, Mar 29th

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You are here: Opinions Letters to the Editor Letter to the Editor: Is Coronavirus the real threat or the authoritative overreach of our governments?

Letter to the Editor: Is Coronavirus the real threat or the authoritative overreach of our governments?

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Our daily lives have really taken a toll since the 1980’s. I say the 1980’s because this was pretty much an end to an era of most government regimes, the raise and collapse of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Since then we fully enjoyed the benefits of what our country has fought for, our freedoms.

I remember as a child I saw on the cover of Time magazine an image of two Germanys being sewn together and in my mind I quickly thought, “Oh no, what’s the world coming to?” I was too young then to understand the significance of the Berlin Wall falling and the collapse of the Soviet Union, because at that age authority was all I knew, why question the authority of the adults?

We are now, in such a short time, experiencing a crisis brought on by an invisible enemy, covid-19. Our authorities and health officials quickly installed fear into the lives of everyone that we took it upon ourselves not to question the authorities. We live in a country where our personal rights and freedoms are important because it allows us to make the choices we choose. We are not absolutely free, but our government ensures us that we can have freedoms guaranteed under our Constitution.

In the last month we are seeing a lock down in which we the people are punished into house arrest due to the fact that our local governments have finally taken an interest in our health. If transparency is so important why are we left in the dark with what’s really going on with this covid-19 scare?

We get daily news of the growing infections (no news on recovery), the possible people dying from this virus, and growing demand of our local governments to increase their power over us. If the health of all of us is finally so important, especially in an election year, why haven’t our governments reacted the same way in authority when it comes to the flu, drug abuse, suicides, and alcoholism?

Just look at the Zuni community, they are completely locked up like sheep at night, and the Navajo Nation is trying to control the movement of people. People were locked up in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union because their governments told them they knew what was best for them, and millions died because of it. We don’t live like that in America.

If the reason for this lock down is based on health, then why have our hospitals closed their doors to the public deeming only the worthy to enter? From what we’re learning, we’re dealing with a virus that is not as threatening as believed based on Stanford University professor of medicine Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, foxnews.com/media/stanford-professor-jay-bhattacharya-coronavirus-death-rate.

How much of this overreach of authority is our local governments going to impose? How much of this power grab will they let go of once we understand the real threat of covid-19?

Our governments imposing order over our lives is more dangerous than a virus that has already been shown to be weaker than the flu. Treatment/cure for covid-19 is already in reach while we still don’t have a treatment for the flu after living with that virus for centuries.

So are these house arrests imposed by our governments sustainable, are they really protecting us? Infection cases rose for the Navajo Nation over a hundred after the 57 hour curfew and that order was supposed to protect the Navajos!  I believe it will only make things worse for all of us. Besides there was no good ending to George Orwell’s “1984”.

Tom Van Winkle

Navajo, N. M.