With the latest group of Covid-19 restrictions, I thought we had seen the brunt of the attacks on our personal liberty. These actions also allow for some concerning precedents that might be abused, even more than they are now, by future elected officials.
I had expected that we weren’t done with the heavy-handed restrictions. (I had hoped, though…) But what I did not expect was for the governor of New York to launch a war on Thanksgiving.
Governor Cuomo has ordered that gatherings be under 10 people in private residences. (What about families with more than 10 people?)
More importantly, since when can the government dictate how you can spend your holiday? When people can come to your house? How many people can be in your home?
(And it’s not just New York—in my own state the government is prohibiting people from different households from gathering together! And no, we’re not in California…)
The whole of 2020 has proved what we have always known—that the government will continue to expand as it takes away our rights. It’s not in the government’s nature to retract or give back powers once they are first taken away.
(Hint… there will be a future Tuttle Twins book about this topic!)
Along with this new mandate, Cuomo has also imposed a 10pm curfew for all public establishments that serve alcohol. He even threatened a second shutdown:
“If these measures aren’t sufficient to reduce the spread—we’ll turn the valve more and part of that would be reducing the number of people indoor dining. If that doesn’t work, if these numbers keep going crazy… you will go back to a closedown.”
That’s right: as ineffective and damaging as the lockdowns were, Governor Cuomo wants to shutdown the New York economy—again.
It’s one thing to make a bad decision, it is another thing to threaten to make that bad decision again. That’s the definition of insanity, right?
Andrew Cuomo has no place telling you how to spend your holidays. It is none of his business. My governor doesn’t have that authority, either.
And I get that Covid-19 is a serious issue for many. But this misunderstanding about the proper role of government is part of the reason why I wrote The Tuttle Twins Learn about the Law. Simply put, the government should not infringe on fundamental liberties such as the freedom of association.
Maybe Cuomo doesn’t hate Thanksgiving, but he certainly is no fan of freedom and property rights… and that’s part of what the holiday celebration is all about. (More about that in an email we’ll send Thanksgiving morning!)
However, we can educate our kids to know when a Governor like Cuomo is overstepping his power.
Save a holiday by picking up a Tuttle Twins book today!
—Connor