Be wary of experts. Most of their advice during the pandemic has been wrong and harmful. Experts’ knowledge is typically compartmentalized. They are not “big picture” thinkers which is why they fail to consider collateral damage. The lockdown may have reduced the number of COVID deaths, but it has increased the amount of depression and number of suicides, especially among those age 18 and younger. The postponement and cancellation of medical appointments have resulted in thousands of premature deaths.

Respect your own common sense as well as your instincts. Thinking has been on vacation since the lockdowns were imposed. Keep in mind that your leaders’ objectives are often the opposite of yours.  

Never take radical action without overwhelming evidence that it will work. The authorities took all manner of drastic actions and weren’t the least bit interested in offering evidence and they still aren’t. Unelected bureaucrats, who know nothing about us, dictated how we live our lives down to the tiniest details. The authorities coerced hundreds of millions of people to wear masks. They assumed that would reduce transmission. There is now evidence that masks are worse than useless.

Be extremely reluctant to commit sweeping violations of the Constitution. The Constitution is our country’s greatest asset and our north star. Ignoring it or trampling on it is never a good idea. The Constitution is what makes us who we are. We ought to treat it like the treasure it is.

Always consider both costs and benefits and make best-effort projections of both. The costs of virtually every aspect of the lockdown were more than the benefits, usually far more.

Calculate probabilities when making choices. “Expected value” is an action’s benefit or cost multiplied by the probability of it happening. For anyone under age 50, the probability of dying from COVID was minuscule, i.e., about one one hundredth of one percent.

Many of the actions taken in the lockdown were unprecedented. There are probably good reasons they had never been done before. “Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread.”

Monomania is a killer. For eighteen months now the assumption has been that absolutely nothing compares to the importance of COVID-19, that the rest of life must stop no matter what.

Be suspicious when someone is obsessed with forcing you to do something, i.e. getting vaccinated. Ask yourself, “What’s actually going on here?” Always be skeptical.

Have the courage and honesty to admit to being wrong and have the discipline to change course. Few mistakes in history have persisted as long as those related to the lockdown. Face saving was all that mattered.

Don’t allow hatred of Donald Trump to dictate your behavior. We could have prevented thousands of deaths if not for the insane objections to ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and vitamin D. Why those drugs and vitamins? Because they had been recommended by Donald Trump. Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine have been used for decades with no notable side effects and cost next to nothing.

Florida and Sweden didn’t impose lockdowns and COVID death rates there have been lower than states and countries that did. They were the equivalent of control groups and ought to at least make everyone suspicious of the effectiveness of lockdowns.

Bias is a hidden distortion of facts and information. Be aware that bias is more pervasive than ever in this era of everything being politicized.

Is safety more important than freedom? Sad to say, freedom has lost its value for far too many Americans.

Ron Ross Ph.D. is a former economics professor and author of The Unbeatable Market. He currently works as a wealth manager and resides in Arcata, California. He can be reached at rossecon@aol.com.

Image: Marco Verch

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