Coronavirus cases are on the rise. The entire country– the world– is in a state of panic. Ever seen Contagion? That’s the script we’re living in– except the virus in Contagion was killing millions of people daily.

You can’t even cough in public anymore. You know the cough stems from the seasonal allergies you’ve dealt with your entire life but a woman next to you on the grocery store aisle pulls her child close and sprays Lysol your way at the first verbal tickle in your throat. She looks panicked. It’s allergies– from the corn and cotton being picked in the field behind your house– but you’re expected to have a stick jabbed up your nose and quarantined until your results come in. That’s the responsible thing to do.

I don’t deny that Covid-19 is a real virus. I don’t deny that it can be devastating to the elderly or those who are immunosuppressed or have underlying conditions. I don’t deny that people have died. I don’t deny the severity in some cases. I don’t deny the science.

But I’ll never believe our entire country being locked down, our holidays canceled, or the fear that you see in the eyes of the masked is valid. I’ll never believe there’s a legitimate reason for my children not to be in school.

Follow that science. Absolutely. I’m no medical doctor. I’m just an author, but I follow that science. And science says our children recover from Covid-19 99.9% of the time.

My son needs to be in school. He wants to be there. He dreads logging onto a computer to stare at long division. He needs his teacher to explain it to him one-on-one. That’s how he learns– by seeing, by doing, by personal instruction. I’ve never considered homeschooling for this very reason– it is not optimal for my child. Maybe it is for yours– but it is not for mine.

He wakes up, takes his ADD pill to help him focus and stares at a screen. He’s unorganized. Papers are strewn all over the house. He’s off schedule. I’ve done my best to help him. I’ve attempted to make our home an ideal learning environment. It’s hard to keep his almost-two-year-old sister out of his backpack. He loses focus when the dogs bark at the UPS man. His 14-year-old sister helps him with the really hard stuff. Still, he struggles.

He misses his friends. He misses his normalcy. He wants to be at his desk watching his teacher write on the whiteboard. He wants to raise his hand and ask a question. That’s how he learns effectively.

As tears streamed down his face on Friday afternoon, I became livid. I’m livid that Covid is a political argument– an agenda. I’m livid that governors are shutting down states (not only the schools- but oh, the utter desperation of being a business owner during this dreadful time) while their children are being taught by private tutors and receiving one-on-one instruction. I guarantee children whose parents hold political office are not crying at a farm table every afternoon over long division. (Governor Newsom, that’s aimed at you. We all know your children are being taught while the rest of your state is being ordered to stay in their homes with the window shades drawn.)

Our teachers– God bless our precious teachers. What hardship to teach from a distance. To know some of your students are struggling and yet there’s nothing you can do. And when school is in session, to see them with masks covering their sweet faces. To watch them tug and pull at them throughout the day, to know they serve as a distraction to the students, like my boy, with a short attention span. God bless each one of you who go out of your way to reply to emails, to send fun PowerPoint presentations with colorful graphics to help cheer up frustrated kids. You are so appreciated. So valued. So needed at this very moment.

My son wants to go to school. I want to hug people at church– at the one service we are allowed to have, although Sunday and Wednesday night services are no longer “safe”. The CDC suggested we not sing at Christmas. “O Holy Night” might spread germs. “Jingle Bells” just might kill somebody. Maybe don’t invite all the grandparents to eat turkey and dressing, either. They might die. They literally might die from sitting on the couch with their family members even though no one in the family is sick and everyone’s hands have been rubbed raw with soap and alcohol. Be afraid. Be very afraid– of people, of interactions, of living.

Praise be to God, every child who has tested positive for Coronavirus in our school district has recovered beautifully. This isn’t the Flu– which we know can be critical for children. This Covid is a virus that knocks them off their feet for a few days and they recover. And yet, we must keep them all separated. Mask on. Birthday parties forbidden. School is too dangerous.

I believed this in March. And April. And the first half of May. I kept my children locked in the house. My son’s birthday came and went without the laughter of children in our house or cake icing smeared on my furniture. My husband was ordered to remove his shoes, scrub his hands before he entered the house after work. He was doused in Lysol. I didn’t set foot in a grocery store. I ordered everything online and even worried deadly germs entered my home through Amazon boxes. It was a scary time. An unsure time. After all, I’d seen Contagion. But time passed. And more data was collected. More science.

And my eyes were opened.

Wake up, America. Our lives, liberties and pursuit of happiness is being stolen from us little by little in the name of “science” and yet, when following that same “science” it proves over and over that our children are safe in school. It proves our children thrive in classrooms and social gatherings.

What happened to accountability? Personal responsibility? Common sense. Acknowledging your elderly parents or your aunt with cancer should be wary of large crowds while your healthy elementary school child should resume life as normal?

This is purely politics. It’s a distraction. It’s the gateway to tyranny.

I said tyranny– cruel and oppressive government rule– that’s the definition. I know the definition. And that’s why I used the word.

One life lost to Coronavirus is too many, but so is one life lost to Pneumonia, Flu, Leukemia. All which kill more people than Covid.

School. Church. Normalcy. Freedom.

Our children want it.

They need it.

Wake up.