Some opinion articles can be long and drawn out. They can drag on and on and on.
I don’t think this one can, or will. In fact, I think it’s just a really simple point that I want to make.
And it’s not so much of a point as it is a question — why on earth do Americans want a national stay-at-home order to come from the President?
Why are so many willing to put so much power into one person’s hands (regardless of the size of those hands)?
All kidding aside, or at least most kidding aside, the virus has spread into states at different times. Different states are experiencing different rates of illness.
Why do so many Americans not believe their own governor can come up with a better solution for their individual state than the President can for the entire nation?
Iowa’s needs in this situation may not be the same as New York’s. And Iowa’s needs may not be the same was Washington State’s needs.
It is best to keep power decentralized rather than exclusive to Washington D.C.
Solutions, when possible, should come from local officials, not federal ones. The federal government can certainly support the states, but directing states isn’t really the proper role, is it?
If President Donald Trump were to issue a stay-at-home order for the nation, your voice would never be heard. If Gov. Kim Reynolds issued such an order, you’d have a much better chance of having your voice heard.
It is imperative that we remember today’s actions in response to the Coronavirus are creating a precedent for the next crisis. The solutions we put in place this time, will likely be standard protocol next time.
So we should be very careful and diligent about how we move forward throughout this crisis.
Counting on the federal government to serve as the end-all, be-all is not the road we want to go down. There is really nothing in human history to suggest that’s a good idea.
We should know our history well enough to know that.
