For the last month or two, we have all been in the audience. Which is to say, spectators in the debacle that is this ongoing panic. So I’ve been thinking…
Bottom line first: This ‘shutdown’ is unconstitutional, and any government official that does not fight it is in violation of their Oath of Office.
The Constitution of the United States says in Amendment 1 (among other things) “the right of the people peaceably to assemble”. And The Constitution of the State of New York has the Oath of Office in Article XIII Section 1, which says (among other things) “I will support the constitution of the United States”.
Taken together, that seems to mean that anyone having taken the Oath of Office (ie all government officials) is required to support the right of peaceably assembly. And failing to do so means they have violated their Oath of Office. Which brings us to the current panic and the ‘shutdown’ it has caused.
As has been acknowledged, the local governments do not have the authority to force ‘stay at home’. Such would violate the 1st amendment (if nothing else). Yet the Governor (an elected official) has ordered all non-essential activities ‘shutdown’, and for everyone to ‘stay at home’. Which is to say, NOT assemble (peaceably or otherwise).
As such, can the local governments sit idly by while other officials violate the Constitution? And if they do, does this not mean they are breaking their Oath? Not directly, as they have taken no action, but through omission.
‘Support‘ is the key word here. In context, does it mean ‘not personally take actions that would harm/damage/undermine/etc’? Or does it mean ‘actively protect, even if all others oppose’?
To change the context, imagine you ‘support’ a sports team. You go to the games, you buy merchandise, you cheer when they win, etc. If your neighbors don’t, well that’s their choice, nothing wrong with that. But if you find fellow ‘supporters’ beating on the team members. Can you still claim to ‘support’ the team if you do nothing? In good conscience, must you at least say ‘this is wrong, stop doing this’? Or is does your inaction mean you ‘support’ their actions?
But wait, we are in an official emergency, doesn’t that change everything? Perhaps, but if so what about our other rights? Does the ’emergency’ mean no need for warrants? Or trials? Or a free press? Or Trey Gowdy’s favorite, cruel and unusual punishments? If the above can be suspended at the whim of government, then they are not “unalienable Rights“. Our rights become luxuries, to be handed out by government, to whom and when they see fit.
As for the dreaded coronavirus…
There is a growing pile of evidence it is another flu, much like we have every year. In fact, some measures say it’s not as bad as most years. Shall we shutdown for every future sniffle as well? Which is the larger issue.
I am going to die, you are too. So is everyone else, we have no choice in that matter. What we have a choice in is how we live our lives. Do we cower in fear, or do we go out and really live? In many ways, the end result is the same, ‘dust to dust‘. But only one of those can produce a life worth having lived.
Which brings us back to the State ‘shutdown’. As required by the governor, we are denied the right to peaceably assemble. A clear violation of the 1st Amendment, and by extension the Oath of Office. By not actively resisting this action, local officials are de facto in support of it, and thus likewise in violation of their Oaths of Office.
Or to quote wiser men then I:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” (emphasis mine…)
I pray we are not there yet, but such a decision is not mine to make. As with everything government related in this great nation, it is up to ‘We the People‘.