The onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus brought an entirely new mindset for Americans to digest as tensions heightened and restrictions increased across the country.

This seems to have become the new reality for most as we surrender to current circumstances and bend to follow the limits that are put into place. However, this has not always been the American way, which instead is relying on our fundamental rights and freedoms.

Some of our basic rights seem to have disappeared into oblivion, which is especially present in Michigan, where it is illegal for residents to cross the street and buy a can of paint.

In Italy, police are using drones to catch people out in public; in Idaho, a woman was arrested for allowing her children to play at a park. Earlier this month in Pennsylvania, a 19-year-old woman was fined for driving alone in her neighborhood to get a break from being inside her home. And the list goes on.

Across the country, many fast food chains remain open for business via drive-thru, where employees hand food out of  windows and make contact with customers.

However, people are strictly banned from attending church services and have been mandated to suspend their religious rights in public where person-to-person contact could feasibly be regulated. 

As of May 5, in Pennsylvania, there are a total of 50,957 cases of the coronavirus and a mere 3,012 deaths, according to the Department of Health. To put that into perspective,12.8 million people live in Pennsylvania. 

Across the U.S., there have been 72,271 deaths and 200,628 recovered in a country of 328.2 million. Contrast this to the estimated 290,000 to 650,000 people who die in the world due to flu viruses. This translates to about 795 to 1,881 deaths a day. 

Interestingly enough, alcohol consumption kills 3 million people a year worldwide and takes the spot as the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. 

When examined closer, are these numbers enough to send the country and countless hard-working Americans plunging into economic disparity by continuing harsh closure of businesses nationwide? 

A Bloomberg article shows a model examining a possible U.S. recession within 12 months is already hitting the 100% mark. The country lost 26.5 million jobs as of April 24. Unemployment rates are hitting over 20% and experts say they will continue on into the mid-2020s.This is the highest recorded rate since the Great Depression, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

I ask that individuals take time to reevaluate their outlook and reconsider how the business restrictions will affect us in the future concerning our rights, the economy and attitudes. 

As once advised by founding father Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

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