We live in a permanent state of emergency in which, our rulers argue, citizen democracy and individual rights would imperil our safety. Illinoisans, like Americans more generally, expect and deserve to have an active role in the democratic process and thus in the rules that affect our lives and those of our children. This ruling from an Illinois court signals a respect for the traditional separation of powers that defines our system of government.
It has become clear that the “follow the science” narrative – which has effectively shut down reasoned democratic debate and imposed harmful, life-altering rules on our children – was a political tactic to silence dissent, not an evidence-based philosophy for our protection. Two years into this political catastrophe, parents and citizens have begun to demand a meaningful say in the democratic process and a substantive role in the decisions our children are living with every day.
Americans are now living amidst an unprecedented mental health crisis, orders of magnitude more dangerous to children and teenagers than is COVID-19. Despite the grown-up self-delusion that says children are resilient, this crisis has fallen most heavily on children, who are decidedly not resilient, but confused, scared, and vulnerable. These children represent the limits of our care and compassion; they have no money, pressure groups, lobbyists, or political clout – no way to fight back against the abuse to which we’ve subjected them.
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