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The most dangerous thing that has happened during the pandemic is that the burden of proof has switched from the government to the people.
This, more than anything else, is what has me concerned for the long term future of our democratic norms.
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This, more than anything else, is what has me concerned for the long term future of our democratic norms.
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The burden of proof has ALWAYS been on the government to justify any sort of regulation that inhibits individual freedom.
There was always an societal and legal understanding that there had to be evidence to back up the regulation's desired purpose.
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There was always an societal and legal understanding that there had to be evidence to back up the regulation's desired purpose.
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Seatbelts, helmets, drunk driving, traffic regs, secondhand smoke, age restrictions on alcohol, etc.
The evidence that all of these things achieve their respective purposes is absolutely overwhelming and unequivocal.
People thus consent to the intrusion on their liberty.
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The evidence that all of these things achieve their respective purposes is absolutely overwhelming and unequivocal.
People thus consent to the intrusion on their liberty.
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What has happened during the pandemic is that this has been completely flipped.
Now, government is getting away with whatever it wants, without proof or evidence, and is effectively putting the burden of proof back on citizens to get back to their normal lives.
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Now, government is getting away with whatever it wants, without proof or evidence, and is effectively putting the burden of proof back on citizens to get back to their normal lives.
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Schools are the easiest example. The burden of proof should be on government to keep them closed, not on the citizens to open them up.
Citizens are helplessly citing all the studies showing schools are safe, the catastrophic impact on the poor, etc.
Gov't just shrugs.
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Citizens are helplessly citing all the studies showing schools are safe, the catastrophic impact on the poor, etc.
Gov't just shrugs.
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Economic shutdowns are the next easiest example. Again, burden is on gov't to say, "Here is the evidence that shows C19 is just too dangerous for your business to open."
Instead, business owners get absolutely no science or explanation as to why they can't make a living.
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Instead, business owners get absolutely no science or explanation as to why they can't make a living.
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The lowest hanging fruit is masks. Science was unequivocal prior to COVID that masks don't work. The science has not changed, the politics has.
Yet we, as citizens, are supposed to accept masks as some sort of mild intrusion in our daily lives.
Come on.
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Yet we, as citizens, are supposed to accept masks as some sort of mild intrusion in our daily lives.
Come on.
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This absolutely cannot become the new normal. Government must always carry the burden of proof moving forward.
They have failed at this, not because of messaging, but because the actual science does not support their draconian policies.
Citizens must keep fighting.
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They have failed at this, not because of messaging, but because the actual science does not support their draconian policies.
Citizens must keep fighting.
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