Dakota L. Wood, who served America for two decades in the U.S. Marine Corps, is the senior research fellow for defense programs at The Heritage Foundation.
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Major events bring with them new words, phrases, and social responses. Some events—such as major terrorist attacks or global pandemics—call upon us to change how we deal with matters such as security or close personal interactions.
They challenge what we have known as normal and ask us to consider what new measures might be needed to deal with a profound change in our environment. Some changes are temporary; others become part of the “new normal.”
The beauty of reorienting to new challenges within a free society is that it ultimately rests with the people to accept or reject such changes.
Our history shows that people quickly recognize what is needed in times of crisis and do our part not only to protect ourselves and our loved ones, but to contribute to the broader needs of our community in ways that preserve our culture, governing structures, and the various rights and liberties that define our nation.
Social distancing, quarantine, shelter in place, panic buying, “You’re worth your weight in toilet paper,” … these are the 2020 equivalents of “Where’s the beef?” and “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”
Cancellation of sporting events, school commencement exercises, birthday parties, weddings, and public funerals reshape our calendars in unsettling ways. And to top the list of changes that seem to cascade with each passing day, governments from local to federal are calling upon us to change how we travel, how we exercise our right to assemble, and even whether we are free to roam about our communities.
How do we determine what is overreach and what is necessary? How do we think about our ability to retain control of our circumstances and balance the broader needs of our friends, neighbors, and larger communities?
History provides many lessons in how societies have dealt with existential threats, especially those posed by communicable disease, with lethal consequences.
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