Ben Carson writes for the Federalist about the political Left’s ownership of a major assault on children’s health.
It has been two years since the world first noticed people were getting sick and dying from a novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. As the seriousness of the disease became more apparent, policymakers around the world struggled with how to respond.
Eventually, many leaders settled on policies of draconian lockdowns and restrictions in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. As these restrictions dragged on for months and years, some leaders trimmed their sails; some changed course completely. But most policy makers failed to keep in mind the fundamental axiom of governing, most pithily stated by Thomas Sowell: there are no solutions, there are only trade-offs.
Now it is becoming clear that most of the policies they chose, like all policy choices, were not consequence-free. Sadly, America’s school children appear to have borne the brunt of their choices.
Politico and other outlets have reported on the “disaster” of learning loss resulting from pandemic school closures. Unfortunately, this learning loss is concentrated in minority communities that could least afford to suffer these consequences — as I, my rocket-scientist brother, and countless others can attest, education is the key to escaping poverty. …
… I welcome outfits like Politico and The New York Times recognizing that policies seeking to halt the spread of an airborne virus have had lifelong negative consequences for American children. But that does not absolve them of their responsibility for bringing these consequences about.
For motivations both noble and base, leftist corporate media was a loud, constant cheerleader for the most draconian of Covid responses. From the start of the pandemic, the public health bureaucracy, liberal politicians, and the left in general spread fear, confusion, and lies about the risks of Covid and the consequences of pursuing their “lockdown and eradication” approach.
