Coronavirus Lesson: Liberty Matters | National Review

NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE

T
he times you live in leave their mark on you. And COVID times have left a mark on me; they’ve repainted a libertarian streak on my politics.

We’ve had a year-long experiment in sacrificing liberties for a common national purpose. At the start of the COVID crisis, I noted that it provided a unique opportunity for “common-good conservatives” to illustrate the necessity of their insights. America was faced with a common challenge: the pandemic. It issued from the malfeasance of the closest thing we have to a national or civilizational rival. And getting through it would require special risk-taking among some …