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#  New Way of Life: Restricting our Freedoms and Liberties

April 23 2020

Written by Dennis P. Zine.

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**RANTZ &amp; RAVEZ**-All our lives have drastically changed in the past month.

It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, rich or poor, working or homeless, a celebrity, or just taking care of your family and home, schooling your children and paying your bills. Many of us have come to appreciate the freedoms and liberties we once took for granted.

We are locked down in our residences, not venturing out to casually shop or enjoy a meal with a friend at a sit-down restaurant. We can no longer go to a theatre and enjoy eating popcorn, candy and drinking a soda. I bet you don’t have to think that far back to remember the good old days. We are now isolated from most of society and worried about when and where we can find the basic products we want and could usually find at the market. . .like toilet paper and paper towels.

We question how so much has changed in such a short time, all because of something we can’t see. It is like watching a science fiction movie. This THING happens on our planet, makes people sick wth many dying from the invisible virus. What’s happened to the freedom and liberties we once enjoyed living in our free society? They have crept away overnight. Now we must practice social distancing and wear a mask and gloves when we need to venture out into public to purchase food, medicine or other essential items available at only the few stores permitted to remain open.

We must wait in line to enter a store, standing six feet apart and make sure that no one breathes on us. There are plastic barriers separating us from the cashiers at markets and other locations open during this lockdown. No more handshakes or hugs when we see friends.

Restaurants that have been meeting places for years are all closed except for take-out and most of them are struggling to remain in business. Workers have been sent home and are now trying to collect unemployment, dealing with the challenges of the Department of Employment. Owners are having trouble paying bills. It is truly a situation none of us could have ever imagined. Fifty-five percent of Los Angeles County residents no longer have a job or paycheck. The stock market was climbing and is now down and continuing to fall. We were planning summer vacations with families and friends, but those reservations have been cancelled; Las Vegas is shut down and airlines are canceling flights.

Our children were looking forward to graduating from elementary school, high school, and college. They were excited to enjoy all the parties, graduation ceremonies and traditional “walks” to receive their diplomas. All lost in the shadow of the pandemic that has turned our lives upside down.

While everything has changed and we are all adjusting, we need to know that there is hope for better times ahead. Be patient and know that this will pass. Happy times will return to our lives as another interesting story is written in the history of America.

*(Dennis P. Zine is a former and retired LAPD Supervisor, former and retired 12-year Los Angeles City Councilman and current General Manager at Bell Canyon in Ventura County. Photo: LA Times. Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.)*

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