One of the more “interesting” aspects of living through this pandemic is the judgment, indignation, and even rage on display over the wearing of face masks, physical distancing, and shelter in place orders. We see it online and in public — in some cases, in violent outbursts. For some of us, our blood boils when we see non-masked, non-distanced folks at bars and on beaches having the party of their lives — yet for others of us, we are incensed that an employee might refuse service or entry if we’re not masked, or that a government official orders us to stay home. We wonder if those in charge know how to navigate these troubling times.
In an exercise I borrowed from Martín Carcasson, I have folks rank a list of things we hold valuable. Sometimes I use a list of nine, and sometimes just the few we find named in the preamble to our Constitution: justice, security/safety, equality, freedom for us, and freedom for future generations. There are tensions inherent in these values. How do we ensure our own freedom to live as we please while also ensuring freedom for others?
With COVID-19 we don’t have to look very far to see how this ranking plays out in our positions and conflicts. Some of us think the safety and security of ourselves and our loved ones are a greater priority than ensuring our freedom to shop or dine as we please. It’s not that we think freedom is unimportant, but that our freedom won’t do us much good if we’re dead, or that our own freedom should not come at the cost of someone else’s safety. Yet others of us worry that even the temporary erosion of our civil liberties will be a slippery slope toward less and less freedom, which will become more and more permanent, for both ourselves and our posterity.