Greetings!
In a republic, “we the people” delegate certain powers to elected representative to govern our affairs. Locally, we have elected school boards, city and town mayors and councils, county government, state representatives, state wide office holders and a governor for each state. The enumerated powers of the United States Congress and President are spelled out in Articles I and II of our Constitution.
When there is a crisis at any level, we expect our representatives to respond to the crisis consistent to the authority granted to them by the people who elected them. We expect our President to call up the military when our country is attacked by foreign powers. We are grateful when our first responders rescue us in emergencies, but what happens when our representatives take advantage of a crisis to usurp authority not specifically granted to them by “we the people”?
Our founding fathers were aware of potential abuses of power by tyrannical leaders. George Washington wrote:
“Usurpation, though in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed”.
When faced with fear, humans are always willing to give up freedom for security. Since the beginning of time, tyrannical leaders have used crisis to gain power. Never in the history of the United States of America have government subdivisions at all levels use a crisis like Covid-19 to control the lives and free will of the American people.
Without legislative authority, we have seen our government deem businesses essential or non-essential. Mostly large businesses were given essential status while small businesses suffered the designation as non-essential, forcing many to go out of business. Now we see the unlawful taking of property through continued eviction moratoriums in violation of US Supreme Court opinion.
I commend Governor Ducey and our Arizona Legislature for passing laws and executive orders that balance public health with the God given rights of individual freedom. Vaccine passports and mask mandates are prohibited and children are specifically not required to wear masks in public schools.
In spite of the rule of law, some school districts throughout the state and several locally are unilaterally giving themselves public health authority and forcing children to wear masks. Right in our back yard, the City of Tucson has passed a mask ordinance and is now forcing employees to get vaccines in violation of state law. Now I’m not debating the merits of wearing masks or getting vaccinated, I’m referring to the authority to issue such edicts.
School board meetings are being flooded with parents protesting mask mandates. These parents have had enough of teachers’ union demands that have directly contributed to school closures and mask policies. Many parents are voting with their feet by home schooling their children and enrolling them in charter, private and Christian schools. Governor Ducey has just initiated a relief program for low income families whose schools that have adopted restrictive covid policies. Up to $7,000 can be used to fund child care, transportation, online tutoring and tuition for private schools. Use this link to learn more.
We must be vigilant on what powers we relinquish to government at all levels. Remember Ronald Reagan’s quote: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction”.
Paul Parisi
Director-Government Domain
520-869-1679
Paul@4Tucson.com
