{"id":3607,"date":"2020-12-02T10:07:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=3607"},"modified":"2020-12-02T12:30:54","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T17:30:54","slug":"fire-in-a-crowded-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2020\/12\/02\/fire-in-a-crowded-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire in a Crowded Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hofbrauhaus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was in the \u201cbefore times\u201d, the time before we all could identify a Corona Virus by sight.  Jenn and I met some friends in Cincinnati for a Reds game (they lost, unfortunately).  But, before the game, we wandered across the Ohio River into Kentucky, and had dinner at the Newport \u201cHofbrauhaus\u201d.   It\u2019s a Munich \u201cbeer festival\u201d type place, with long wooden tables; families and strangers all sitting together with large pints of German beer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner was schnitzel and spatzle, served by Bavarian dressed waitresses. An \u201com-pah\u201d band played in the background, and as the beer mugs were drained and replaced, the diners joined in old German drinking songs. By the end of the dinner, many were standing on benches, swaying to the songs, swinging their beer steins and belting out the lyrics. It\u2019s a fun night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today it would be called a different name:  a super-spreader event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been eight months and fifteen days since we last sat down inside a restaurant.  We\u2019ve dined on the patio a few times, but now that winter has set in, that\u2019s out of the question.  Life is different, with political ideology somehow tied to public health.  Who you supported for President last month is reflected by whether you\u2019re wearing a mask or not.  Today\u2019s \u201cbutcher\u2019s bill\u201d:  277,017 have died in the United States from COVID, and over fourteen million have been diagnosed with the disease (Covid<\/a>).  That includes relatives and close friends.  There is no \u201cdistance\u201d from COVID:  it\u2019s at the front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a \u201clight at the end of the tunnel\u201d for COVID. This morning, the United Kingdom approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine. The United States is a couple of weeks behind, but likely both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be in use here before Christmas. When the number of vaccinations reaches seventy to eighty percent of the population, life might get back to something that resembles the \u201cbefore times\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the meantime, we\u2019ve got to \u201ccontrol\u201d an uncontrollably infective virus.  Face masks help, but aren\u2019t a guaranteed protection.  \u201cSocial distancing\u201d, maintaining space from those outside your \u201cpersonal bubble\u201d helps. And being outside with air circulation makes a difference. But the biggest issue is behavior.  Will people avoid \u201cspreader\u201d events?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Amendment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So what are \u201cspreader\u201d events?  They are large gatherings of folks, crowded together, and often inside.  Add to that physical contact, yelling or singing, and you have all the \u201cfixin\u2019s\u201d for spreading COVID 19.  It definitely would include an evening at the Hofbrauhaus.  Packing the stands for the high school basketball game would fit the bill, and, unfortunately, the high school indoor track meet too.  And the same could be said for the 7:00 pm service at the local church, mosque, or synagogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many, including a majority of the Supreme Court, claim that the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees \u201cfreedom of religion\u201d.  What it actually says is this:  \u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof\u201d (First Amendment, US Constitution).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there we are:  \u201cno Law<\/em>\u201d prohibiting the \u201cfree exercise<\/em>\u201d thereof (emphasis added).  So if the Third Gospel Church of the River wants to have a packed service with singing and hugging, there can be \u201cno Law<\/em>\u201d that prohibits it \u2013 right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same First Amendment also states that the \u201cCongress shall make no law, \u201c\u2026abridging the freedom of speech\u201d.  But we all know the caveat to that \u201cfreedom\u201d:  One can\u2019t be \u201cfalsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic,\u201d (Justice Holmes, Schenk v United States<\/em>).   So there are limits to free speech.  And we already accept limits to the \u201cfree exercise\u201d of religion as well.  Fire inspectors go to churches, and set crowd limits on the building.  Building inspectors look at the structural integrity of the synagogues, and could legally condemn a building that was in danger of collapsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So when the local government or the Governor places limits on religious services in the name of COVID, it\u2019s not some incredibly broad expansion of power. Just as we expect that the government will protect us from fires, it\u2019s reasonable action to protect the population from \u201csuper-spreader\u201d events.  To be fair, that government better do the same with the local sports, and the dance clubs.  And they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while I haven\u2019t been there, I bet they aren\u2019t standing on the benches and singing at the Hofbrauhaus either.  But six months from now, if we can \u201cde-politicize\u201d the vaccine, maybe we can return to \u201craise a glass\u201d again.  There\u2019s a Billy Joel concert re-scheduled at the Great American Ballpark in September, and we have tickets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hofbrauhaus It was in the \u201cbefore times\u201d, the time before we all could identify a Corona Virus by sight.  Jenn and I met some friends in Cincinnati for a Reds game (they lost, unfortunately).  But, before the game, we wandered across the Ohio River into Kentucky, and had dinner at the Newport \u201cHofbrauhaus\u201d.   It\u2019s a Munich \u201cbeer festival\u201d … Continue reading “Fire in a Crowded Church”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFire in a Crowded Church : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Supreme Court restricted local government's from controlling religious services. 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