I found some of the reactions to Covid restrictions to be completely bizarre. I didn’t understand how some people could argue they reduced freedom when they were quite obviously preserved it. If you die from Covid, or anything else, you lose everything, including your freedom. Thus Covid restrictions preserved freedom by preventing people dying from Covid.
It’s one of those obvious things like the sky is blue: I wonder whether those who fought Covid restrictions had ever looked up, have ever looked beyond the clouds.
I then realised that, of course, it was a conflict between two different types of freedom: the freedom to live versus the freedom to kill. If you were in favour of the freedom to live, you supported Covid restrictions. If you were in favour of the freedom to kill, you opposed them. If you didn’t understand that other people have freedom too, you opposed them. In other words, belief in the freedom to kill is based on the belief that other people aren’t really people (the belief of bigots), that other people aren’t really people (the belief of psychopaths), that other people aren’t really people (the belief of mass conspiracy theorists), or that other people don’t really matter (the belief of egotists). You might notice from this that I have a low opinion of those people who want the freedom to kill others.
The most stark example of freedom to kill versus freedom to live, that I am aware of, is US politics. Now, in the US, like many countries, public debate is controlled by the élite to ensure that arguments among ordinary people don’t threaten élitist power, so resolving the argument won’t effect the suffering of many American people. Even so, despite it being a fake conflict, it’s fascinating to consider, and thus an effective distraction from the real causes of the problems of ordinary Americans.
Guns exist to kill. A lot of Americans want the freedom to own guns, e.g. want the freedom to kill. It appears, from my ignorant position, to be fundamental to the American Republican Party. Thus the US Republican Party is the party of people who, given the choice between the freedom to live or the freedom to kill, want the freedom to kill. I can’t say whether the Democratic Party represent the opposite, they don’t seem to shout so loudly on the matter.
One thing I also find bizarre is the number of American Republicans who claim to be Christians despite believing in the freedom to kill. In Christian terms, killing is so evil that not killing is one of the ten commandments, yet these people seem to think they’re following Christianity. Having said that, not stealing is another of the commandments, yet the US is an arch–capitalist country. It’s as though following the commandments is optional for American Christians. It must be said I do sometimes wonder whether their preachers have horns.
Note that I am not talking about owning guns, just those who think that owning them is a principle of freedom. In many parts of the world, including here, there are wild animals with people on their menu. Weaponary to defend against such animals is necessary. Similarly, the military need weapons (that’s another debate). Here, gun ownership is regulated to preserve freedom, so very few people die of it. In the USA, gun ownership is regulated to deny freedom, by encouraging slaughter of children, yet the people who support gun ownership are convinced they support freedom. It’s the freedom to live versus the freedom to kill, or, to put it in American Christian terms, it’s Jesus versus Satan.
I do find interesting is many of those who believe in the freedom to kill don’t understand that they reduce freedom. They don’t seem to get that killing removes the freedom of those killed. Thus they were howling for freedom when they fought against the Covid restrictions which existed to preserve the freedoms of those at risk from Covid, by preserving their lives. In America, they howl for freedom when they fight for the right to own killing machines, with consequential slaughter of innocents, the consequential loss of freedom, of hundreds of thousands of Americans. I don’t know whether those who fight for the freedom to kill understand they actually oppose freedom, whether they’re simply too dim to understand what they actually want, or whether they know exactly the consequences of their belief and either don’t care about others, or, even worse, enjoy the deaths.