Like many of you I am watching what is currently going on in the United States and around the world and I have a lot of questions. Most of those questions start with the word 'why'. for example, "why is this virus worse than the flu?" or "why is a box store allowed to stay open and small businesses cannot?" I think a lot of people are asking those same or similar questions. but a different question popped into my head recently, "what happened?"

My wife and I were looking at some old pictures and memorabilia from her family. We began talking about her family settling in this area in the 1860s and the trip to get here and all of the dangers they faced. It brought visions of the pioneer and American spirit about which this country was built. The untold dangers they faced setting out on a journey where they would face disease, potential starvation, Indian attacks, and many other hazards that could result and often did, in the death of family members or friends. Even if they were successful in making it to their destination, they would still face tremendous hardship. Yet, they took the chance with the hope that they could build something better for their families.

That got me to thinking about the history of America and when we as a nation have faced tough times. Whether we were fighting against tyranny from foreign invaders, terrorists, natural disasters, or unseen causes of pandemics such as the measles or the Spanish flu, we did not cower and run. Rather, we have a history of being heroes, running towards the danger we're facing and the unknown with the idea that we were not going to be beaten but rather we were going to figure it out and win. So what happened?

Without so much as a question, we took the word of some bureaucrats and governmental officials and begin hiding willingly in our homes. Afraid to go out or allow others near. If any suggested that this behavior might not be the right course of action or questioned what the bureaucratic experts claimed, we have been met with derision and allegations that we want people to die. That we didn't understand what had to be done to save ourselves.

Even as evidence has mounted that the restrictions did nothing as compared to communities or nations that did not place severe restrictions upon their populace or that the virus was not as deadly as other communicable diseases we have survived in recent history, the stink of victimhood continued to pervade through much of our society. Worse yet, the willingness to give up individual liberties without a whimper seems to be pervasive.

Today in New Mexico there will be a number of demonstrations against our Governor's extension of the restrictions that are not only doing more to harm our economy but are also resulting in more illness and death than the coronavirus. For every 1% increase in unemployment, There is a 3% increase in overdose deaths and a 1% increase in suicides. That equates to about 77,000 people dying that would not have had these severe restrictions not been put in place.

My question stands: What happened to the spirit that has stood up to so much adversity throughout our history?