COMMENTARY: All judgments should be based upon a sober assessment of what is most likely to cause the least unwanted harms while achieving the greatest wanted social benefits. Whatever safety measures are needed to protect people should be enforced.
By E. Christian Brugger, EWTN News, 5/2/20
E. Christian Brugger is professor of moral theology at
Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida.
These reflections are probably a little late, since lockdown restrictions are easing around the country, but we may still find ourselves divided between “open-uppers” and “lock-downers.” Both have good reasons for their views, and neither denies the value of the other’s side. The open-uppers aren’t saying: “Who cares if more people catch the virus — who cares about a second wave!” And the lock-downers aren’t saying: “Quarantine fatigue is a fiction, so shut up and stay home!”
Both know we’re dealing with risks of unwanted side effects. If we keep things locked to protect against the virus’s transmission, we risk greater economic disorder, more serious food shortages, higher rates of suicide and domestic abuse, exaggerated health problems and more dangerous isolation. If we open up too early, we risk undoing the hard-earned gains of the last 50 days, reigniting contamination rates and causing a worse state of affairs than the first. …