# My mother says the government never had the right to make us stay home since we're a "free country." Is this true? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 29, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204 "2020-12-29T23:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/41 "2020-12-30T13:25:05Z")
Yeah, we locked up all the Japanese Americans and took their stuff and nobody complained about socialism! What is wrong with people today? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/42 "2020-12-30T13:28:50Z")
People turning their lights off or rationing sugar or rubber or steel is hardly comparable to locking people up because of their ancestry. You can’t compare sacrifice for a common good to locking people up because they don’t look like you. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/43 "2020-12-30T13:28:52Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > During WWII some cities had blackouts to prepare for potential enemy bombing runs. People complied without whining about socialism. Did rationing gas and tires make the US any less free? Was it socialism? It would be nice if right wingers would spend less time whining about their “rights” being infringed upon and more time owning up to their responsibilities. Their Dear Leader is a draft dodger who made fun of an American veteran for falling into Vietnamese POW camps. I think you can safely discount any form of patriotism coming from that side as empty virtue signaling, not an actual love of country and willingness to sacrifice and suffer for her. Which is why they won’t wear masks. They’re draft dodging the pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/44 "2020-12-30T13:30:28Z")
Let’s just say I find the supposed stoic heroism of the greatest generation to be largely a crock. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/45 "2020-12-30T13:33:06Z")
It’s easy to keep a stiff upper lip when your country is the only major belligerent nation not to see its mainland invaded or bombed by foreign troops… ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/46 "2020-12-30T13:45:19Z")
And a compliant press telling people what the government wants them to hear. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/47 "2020-12-30T14:12:09Z")
Wait, what? [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j5pzcSDwkBJKgRPDb4TJV1JzLm-TTbWPfEdFhG0_CcjP6SvVIA2jU5MoTcshlTp1e5tgz1zIos0YUSKaYReH1M-rpIGc6ZaWBp1jGS5k9bTms_sU4TLjGU3jkDG1QYQ8wgTKs8FE2g=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/LyWCuSJEpSx72yrz7) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/48 "2020-12-30T14:28:16Z")
Several people were arrested 2020, if Hawaii is part of the USA. Here is [the Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/12/states-coronavirus-travel-restrictions-quarantine-hawaii/617321/) (soft paywall based on coockies) on the subject, and why the rest of the country did so badly in comparison. From the linked article: " In mid-October, the state announced that it would allow tourists to [bypass](https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/11/house-speaker-changing-hawaiis-pre-travel-testing-program-doesnt-serve-the-public/) its mandatory two-week quarantine by showing a recent, negative COVID-19 test upon arrival. But before then, people who emerged from six-hour flights from LAX would find themselves imprisoned in paradise. Some of them broke quarantine, and more than 200 were arrested. In April, the Hawaii attorney general’s special agents arrested a man while he was loading groceries from Costco [into his car](https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/hawaii-covid-19-joint-information-center-news-release-four-more-people-arrested-for-quarantine-violations-april-29-2020/). They busted [honeymooners](https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/hawaii-covid-19-joint-information-center-news-release-newlyweds-arrested-for-quarantine-violation-may-1-2020/) in May after the pair went out to buy pizza. On the Big Island, police swept up 21 members of a “family with a leader” [in June](https://apnews.com/article/7372905d2f0c22512dacbc81db250496). In August, authorities charged a [69-year-old man](https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2020/08/19/hawaii-news/police-arrest-4-for-allegedly-breaking-quarantine/) who refused to sign the quarantine paperwork at the airport. In October, special agents [arrested](https://www.khon2.com/coronavirus/couple-rearrested-after-violating-hawaiis-quarantine-order-for-the-second-time/) a couple for breaking their quarantine for the second time in two days, after their hotel snitched on them. All of the arrested tourists faced the prospect of a one-year jail sentence—which no one has served yet—or a $5,000 fine." I am sure Hawaii is in full respect of the constitution. It was a nice thread, but the OP’s mom’s question is hereby solved. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/49 "2020-12-30T14:34:05Z")
I’m saying the US mainland was never invaded or bombed in the war (unless you count those Japanese fire balloons or a couple of subs shelling ports, but that’s quite literally nothing compared to what England [or say Russia, or Poland] was going through) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/50 "2020-12-30T14:40:20Z")
[If the MAGAbots had been around in 1941.](https://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2020/12/11) They certainly wouldn’t be remembered as the greatest generation. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/51 "2020-12-30T14:50:56Z")
The average Greatest Generation person was probably more racist than a modern MAGA dude. But at least they were obedient. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/52 "2020-12-30T15:01:04Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > The average Greatest Generation person was probably more racist than a modern MAGA dude. Is it o.k. to beat the shit out of someone if you can point out that someone somewhere else was even crueler? Is this supposed to make MAGAs feel better about the shit they pull? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/53 "2020-12-30T15:04:01Z")
Don’t think that was the point he was trying to make…? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/54 "2020-12-30T15:06:17Z")
No. It’s supposed to make people feel silly comparing us to the awesome generation that brought us WWII. Yes, no one (mostly) protested against war measures in WWII. They also didn’t protest police killing unarmed black men. They also didn’t mind ignoring the Constitution because, hey it’s a war. The fact that grandpa had a smile when he was handed a shit sandwich is not what I admire about him. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/55 "2020-12-30T15:26:24Z")
So when exactly WAS America great, if it wasn’t when the Greatest Generation was around (since you correctly point out they were racist as fuck)? What “Great” are we aiming to reach “Again”? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/56 "2020-12-30T15:27:43Z")
I dunno. Late 80’s was pretty fun. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/57 "2020-12-30T15:35:53Z")
Define the metrics. If, by ‘great’, you mean largest relative advantage to the other countries across the globe, probably 1946. If you mean greatest global cultural influence, probably 1956. If you mean the last time America ‘won’ a war of significance, probably 1989. If you mean the last time the post-war Pax Americana seemed endlessly durable, probably 1999. Since 9/11, it’s been downhill. Our greatest cultural, business, and social achievement since then has been… what… Facebook? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/58 "2020-12-30T15:42:25Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Define the metrics. Your metrics all seem to be related to the US’s position on the world stage as a “Great Power”. Perhaps that’s what people mean when they say they want to Make America Great Again, but considering Trump’s isolationist stance, I don’t know about that. Seems to me that most MAGAs are more concerned with domestic policy than foreign. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/59 "2020-12-30T15:43:39Z")
Ok. Define the metrics you think matter and give us your argument. And, yes, defining ourselves by other countries is one way to do this. 🤷‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204/60 "2020-12-30T15:46:48Z")
Who said that, though? The topic of this thread is what restrictions the government is entitled to enact legally. Someone thus pointed out some past, perfectly legal acts that people don’t object to either then or now. Yes, there are things they also accepted that they shouldn’t have, which are illegal. But that’s not really relevant to the topic of this thread because the OP is not about a racist act. You can argue that, in 2020, you can’t have internment camps, but not that they can’t tell you to stay home due to an imminent threat. I don’t see anyone honoring that generation so much as pointing out that the MAGA people compare dosfavorably to them. It’s less honoring them and more dishonoring the current people who seem to not care about how what they do affects others. If they were alive back then, with someone in power who would allow it, they’d take all the food and other rations, claiming they get to because they are free, and wouldn’t care what this would do to everyone else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-says-the-government-never-had-the-right-to-make-us-stay-home-since-were-a-free-country-is-this-true/929204.md?page=4)