There Are No Conservatives In Crisis, Or So It Seems

     There is an old saying that states, "There are no atheists in foxholes." That is to say everyone, when faced with the possibility of death, has a desire to be saved by a force greater than themselves. I have been thinking much about this saying lately in the clamor and pall that has beset our country as Obama administration scandals and a flaccid economy have been subjugated to the threat of Ebola. My intent here is not to add anymore to the cacophony of information, misinformation, disinformation, or speculation about the virus itself, only what it apparently has done to our country in a non-medical sense.
     If one were to replace atheists from the aforementioned saying with conservatives and foxholes with crisis, it would encapsulate the concern I have beyond the spread of a virus that attacks the human body, to a virus that attacks Liberty itself. I have been absolutely appalled and sickened by the response of Republicans, which I might expect to engage in such behavior, and conservatives, which I would not expect to engage in such behavior, engaging in behavior that is more illustrative of those on the Left.
     What is the behavior I am talking about? It is the weakness of the victim looking for a government cure to what ails us. A case in point is the almost constant clamoring by many on the Right for the Obama administration to implement travel bans on flights making their way from West Africa to the United States. Whether the administration should or should not is not important to my thesis.
     I have not heard any airline, any customers of airlines, or anyone in congress suggesting the airlines self-ban. Why must we sit, helpless to ban flights from Ebola infested countries, waiting for the government to act? Can not the airlines stop arrivals and departures from those countries themselves? And can not the citizens, instead of demanding action from an incompetent and tone deaf administration, demand action from the airlines? And are Republicans in congress not able to call on the airlines in this time of national emergency to stop flights that may bring more Ebola-infected persons into the United states?
     I have been more than a little disheartened lately with conservatives, who claim the belief in small government, but recently have been demanding bigger government to deal with what may or may not be a crisis. I mentioned in a previous post congressman Tim Murphy telling the CDC that what ever additional funds and authority they need to deal with the crisis, congress stands ready to give them. Screaming for a government flight ban is another example. Additionally, the focus on the new Ebola Czar having no medical experience rather than making the case that the position should not even exist, is another acceptance of big government by those on the Right.
     The appearance of what may be a crisis should not in any way enervate conservatism, and its core value of smaller government. It is myopic for conservatives to desire a big government solution to the Ebola problem, and then foolishly think that that expanded federal authority will disappear when the crisis has passed. Ronald Reagan once stated that "the closest thing to eternal life on earth is a government program." And not even the absence of Ebola will eliminate the bureaucracy created to fight it.