Two years into this pandemic, we know something crucial that we didn’t know at its start: Children, miraculously, face a negligible risk for severe outcomes from Covid-19. And yet kids—from preschool to university—have borne the burden of our most draconian policies. While the rest of us have returned to bars and restaurants, pre-schoolers are still in masks. The Los Angeles school district announced last Friday that “masking will be required at all times, indoors and outdoors.”
The extent to which Covid policies have disrupted the social, intellectual and emotional growth of American kids—including some of the poorest and most vulnerable—is among the most morally urgent issues right now. (Leading doctors and public health experts agree: See this useful toolkit for parents just released by Dr. Lucy McBride and others.)
Were these measures necessary? Is the current cure worse than the disease itself? How are young people really doing? And what should concerned parents and teachers do to help?
On Monday, January 31st, at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST, I’ll be asking these questions and many more to three people who have skin in the game: AJ Kay, Jane Kitchen, and Alex Gutentag.
AJ Kay is a writer and mom of four who currently serves as managing editor of Collateral Global.
Jane Kitchen is a 19-year-old undergraduate student who recently transferred to Hillsdale College.
Alex Gutentag is a public school teacher in California and a columnist at Tablet.
This event is co-sponsored by Tablet and is part of their monthly series called “The Turn,” which focuses on the political homelessness of our current moment. If you missed the first event in the series, with Liel Leibovitz and Walter Kirn, you can catch it here.
Usually, events like these are accessible to paid subscribers only, but this time we’re opening the door to all of you. Capacity for the room is 3,000 people. If we hit that number—I hope we do!—and you can’t get in, don’t worry: We’ll be sharing a recording of the event.
As always, we want to hear from you. So please come with questions in mind.
Here’s the Zoom information:
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So many developmental needs have been neglected to fight a virus that, in its current dominant form, has little or no impact on the vast majority of children. Those who want them have ample available protections, from vaccines to anti-virals to lifestyle choices that avoid close contact. So much non-Covid damage has been done already. What’s also very worrisome is the ease with which governments and health authorities shut down economic activity and suspended constitutional rights.
In Canada where I live we’re seeing the federal government add more controls over citizens as other jurisdictions are removing pandemic measures. The Emergencies Act, supposedly imposed to quell protests against vaccine mandates, made opposing certain policies illegal, and did so after border blockades we’re removed. It’s hard not to see such moves at power grabs.
The federal government ignored the concerns of millions of Canadians who demanded individual discretion over healthcare, a right enshrined in our Constitution. The take away for me is that the pandemic has become an opportunity for governments to suspend and reduce rights in the name of undefined ideas like public safety.
What’s the value of “safety” when individual rights are removed or suspended without a high threshold of justification? Kids are paying a huge price as government pursues safety purity. We all are.
Will this call be available for replay? I was not able to attend.