WERE THAT GIVE ME LIBERTY OR DEATH GUY ALIVE TODAY

Back in 1775, the leaders of the great state of Virginia debated the wisdom of sending its troops to support a revolution against British rule of the colonies. One of the state’s politicians and accomplished orators, Patrick Henry, gave a rousing speech in support of the revolution and allegedly ended his speech with words that every American student knows: Give me liberty or give me death. America is a polity that cherishes its freedoms—freedom of speech, of press, of religion, and so forth. But there are times when we are stricken with a suspicion of freedom, when the idea of allowing people to do or say whatever they may is actually a bad idea, and we are living one of those moments. Under ordinary circumstances, we would never allow a single politician to tell us to close our businesses, our schools, our parks or our beaches, wear face masks, keep six feet of distance between ourselves and anyone else, and if we feel sick, stay home. These are days when we are living the very opposite of liberty, but it’s not due to the whims of a tyrant, but the vicious effects of a virus, a vaccine for which we still hope to create.

There are some people who are very upset about this. And they have good reason. When businesses and places of socializing close, people lose their jobs. Since shut-downs began, a staggering 30 million plus in the country have filed for unemployment, rates which rival those of the Great Depression. Many others have had their hours cut, their compensation sliced, or both.  There is a lot of pain in our nation right now. People have got to pay the mortgage, the electric bill, and buy food. It is no wonder that some are clamoring to get back to work.

But getting back to work before the virus has been stopped poses a risk to those getting back to work and those who would choose to patronize those facilities. How many asymptomatic people are walking about and unknowingly infecting equally unsuspecting victims? How might such a dynamic contribute to another growing curve of infected people? Will such a curve once again overwhelm hospitals?  How might opening businesses too soon contribute to another round of closing businesses once again?

I have noted with particular concern the push to reopen meatpacking plants before employees have been tested for the Coronavirus. Will these employees be subject to undue risks because of our need for meat? Will meat be packaged by people who are already suffering from the virus? Will the food chain be compromised by a rash move to get things started before things can safely get restarted? These are the kinds of questions that arise when people want to buck the precautionary measures, move too quickly, do as they please, the consequences be damned.

Our Torah portion this week is a double -header—Aharei Mot-Kedoshim—which literally means “After death/Holy Ones.” The title makes for the rather jaded observation, though containing a few kernels of truth, that after people die, we talk about how good they were. But actually, the Torah portion itself urges us to act very differently. The Torah portion, in a passage even more famous than Patrick Henry’s legendary words, urges us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Our heritage was perhaps the first to make love the foundation upon which all other moral decisions rest. And so, in matters of life and death, it seems to me that we ought best choose life over liberty, especially where the suspension of liberty is clearly temporary. This pandemic will not last forever. The economy will come back. A dead person does not. Our liberties have been seriously curtailed for the time. It’s not a happy situation, but know that we are doing this out of love for our neighbors and for ourselves. Were Patrick Henry around today, he might just give a rousing speech in which he concludes as follows: Give me life, and not to worry, the liberties will return. It does seem as if this pandemic is going to last forever. It won’t. Let’s none of us be foolish in trying to restart too soon. Too rash a rush to return to normal, may just be the difference between liberty and death.