Spring Break and the Unofficial National Motto of the USA:
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."FACT: President Trump Declared National Emergency Almost
Two Weeks AFTER Spring Break Season Had Already Started.Timeline of Virus Emergency in the USA.
(Posted March 24, 2020) For many Americans, "spring break" was their first taste of individual "liberty". As such, it's not really a group experience at all, though some may travel to the beach in groups.Historically, spring break is associated with the "coming of age" phenomenon, or the "growing up to be an adult" process in the USA. To limit it to drunken group debauchery, misses the entire point. In fact, that sort of activity might actually prevent some from growing up. For many, spring break is the first time in their lives that American youth are free to roam on their own (within a limited area), without close adult supervision.
I don't know how or why anyone would relate the above described processes into anything whatsoever to do with the damned corona-virus pandemic. Where's the connection? Most people in the USA go to the beach to be alone, not to mingle with others.
I feel like those who are blaming the coronavirus on those who visited the ocean during the spring break season, are dredging up an ancient and unfounded superstition concerning the sources of various diseases. Fact: the ocean is not the source of the corona-virus, or any other viruses! The world needs accurate information about the virus, not superstition.
I personally have met countless people, many of whom were Americans, who feel that visiting the seashore alone is a "spiritual" experience, and that the ocean is a very special sort of place. Think "spring break" in that context. But if you like, leave out the over usage of beer or liquor.
Trump's "state of emergency" in response to the corona-virus epidemic, and his call for everyone in the USA to self-isolate began on or around Friday, March 13th, just shy of two weeks into the spring break season. Just thought you might want to know. But he is using Sunday March 15th as the starting date lately. Here's why:
Easter this year will be Sunday April 12th. So that's exactly 4 weeks after Sunday March 15th. I don't think Trump is being unreasonable in expecting some major improvement by Easter. Note that spring break is generally considered over, or almost over around Easter.
It is also clear that many people planned for and traveled to spring break destinations thinking Trump's original prediction that the "virus would disappear soon", would actually come true. Trump was not the only one to plan for wellness, rather than sickness. Many other world leaders and U. S. state governors also did not act strongly against the virus early on. In fact, I would speculate that many of the thousands of Americans who got stuck overseas lately actually considered themselves "spring breakers".
Personally, I don't think the unofficial American motto, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness", is a joke. Nor do I feel that the unofficial national motto of our USA should be so horribly criticized in times of national emergency by those from foreign countries who don't understand the multi-faceted depth of those words, especially in a historical context.
It's too bad Trump's original idea to just "let the virus pass away naturally" didn't pan out. It's also too bad that so many now have such scorn for the unofficial national motto of the USA, while enjoying our freedoms and other advantages of being American.
Students, their sacrificing parents, and all other Americans who have worked hard, deserve a break! Spring break, in general, is not a crime against the principles upon which our nation was founded.