Doing so has been prohibited by a man who has the power to shut down an entire economy with the stroke of a pen. Meanwhile, the mayor of a neighboring city has said that water and power will be turned off for any of these "nonessential" businesses that do not comply with the order (while his own office, the only purpose of which seems to be getting in everyone else's way, remains open.) We now have to stand in line to get into the grocery store, are only able to purchase limited quantities of food and other supplies, and the California National Guard has been activated in my state to help "distribute… food and medical supplies…" among other tasks.

There has been plenty of debate as to whether these draconian measures are necessary to halt the spread of Covid-19; about what the socio– economic costs will be (devastating); and about whether the virus is even as deadly as was originally projected.

But lost in all of this is a much bigger question: The question as to the kind of world we want to live in.

In a crisis like this one, words like "personal liberty" are brought up and almost immediately tossed aside by politicians and commentators, as if they are mere luxuries–and selfish ones at that. Because "saving lives is more important."