Anthony Fauci Is Loathsome, But His Diaries Should Be Private
Have you ever thought you did something special? Have you felt the opposite? Have you ever expressed petty jealousies, vanities, insecurities, or simply embarrassing thoughts in the quiet of your mind?
The questions come up as Anthony Fauci has his diaries read. That he’s loathsome is settled science. We knew that from the early days of the virus when he went on the Sunday talk shows to say that the economy and jobs would have to take a backseat to safety. Yes, abject poverty as virus mitigation from someone who would never miss a meal.
That Fauci was incredibly vain was similarly settled science. Put another way, no one seriously interested in science would forego so much time in the lab for long rides in Lincoln Town Cars to television studios, followed by even longer waits in green rooms.
It’s a reminder that contra all the revived excitement about Fauci’s detestable ways care of his diaries, we learned little that we didn’t already know. Either way, Fauci’s diaries shouldn’t have been released.
Which brings us to Sen. Rand Paul, one of the few good guys in Washington. Sen. Paul has long recognized the horrors of big government only for the Kentucky senator to pull a big government move himself. Precisely because our inner thoughts can be so embarrassing, no one gives away their diaries unless they absolutely must. Big government forced Fauci to reveal in embarrassing fashion what we already knew. Worse is that in using the heavy handed, big government tactics of the left, the American right is setting the stage for the eventual embarrassment of its own. That’s not right. Private thoughts should be protected.
Some will excuse the diary leaks because they revealed Fauci’s determination to both limit information flows about the virus along with the possibility that the virus wasn’t a natural occurrence. The excuses aren’t compelling.
For one, we already knew Fauci was trying to limit information flows. That’s what governments do.
As for the speculated lab leak, what if it was? Or better yet, what if Fauci had acknowledged right away that the virus came from a lab in China? If so, does anyone think government from the federal level on down does any different? Would it have “contained” a lab leak in ways it couldn’t a natural leak, and subsequently told it to go sit in the corner?
To focus on whether the virus was a natural occurrence or manufactured, and what Fauci believed about either scenario, is to miss the point. The reality is that the virus was spreading, and pathogens are as old as mankind.
Wuhan or not, the massive blunder was in the political response to the virus. Donald Trump panicked, Congress panicked, governors and mayors panicked. Much worse, they foisted their fears on us such that we lost our freedom, tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs, millions of businesses were impaired, and global starvation skyrocketed.
Politicians excuse their sick actions with admissions of ignorance. Sorry, but that’s unacceptable. Even if we accept their ignorance, we can’t accept their panic. Freedom is always a crucial virtue, and it’s most crucial of all during times of uncertainty. Said another way about Republicans in particular (Trump was president in 2020), when we needed them to be Republican the most, they acted like Democrats.
Still trying to excuse their panic, to this day they’re changing the subject to Anthony Fauci. Don’t let them, and don’t let them use the same big government that subsidized lockdowns to force the public airing of private thoughts. Big government doesn’t become ok when people we rightly despise are the victims of its odious heft.
Originally published on Real Clear Markets.