Santa Cruz, Calif. — Two months of shutdown have exhausted the economy, strained the food supply, ransacked the Treasury, and threatened to destroy Main Street, gutting our already wounded middle class. Now, finally, and over the objections of most in the corporate media and some recently empowered health officials, America is beginning to reemerge.
Businesses shuttered by politicians fearful of the coronavirus are slowly reopening, while in nearly every city and town, less-fortunate businesses are closed for good. The extent of the damage is still largely unknown.
We do know that unemployment has hit 36 million, restaurants have failed, shelves have gone empty, religious freedom has been surrendered or seized, and farmers have dumped milk, plowed vegetables and culled millions of animals. For many Americans, however, there is finally an end in sight: Thirty-five states have moved toward reopening, and pressure is mounting on the others to follow.
America’s reawakening is an unfolding story, one our young country has never lived before. To work to understand it and to tell it, The Federalist is setting out across the United States.
With Ohio’s Friday move to allow a limited reopening of restaurants, the only completely closed entities will be California, our start, and the District of Columbia, our endpoint. The trip will take us through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland.
Over two weeks, it is our goal that readers, listeners, and viewers who don’t live on our trail will learn how their fellow citizens are getting by — and those who live on our trail will see their stories told.
We’ll be speaking with the community leaders. the people who risked their homes and their futures to take out loans, work hard, and build a business — the men and women who host our birthdays, sponsor our sports teams, and give our towns their character.
We’ll be documenting our travels in a series of multimedia articles and at The Federalist Radio Hour. If you recognize our destinations and know stories we should tell, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Bedford@TheFederalist.com. And if you do not, please tune in to learn along with us.
Safe travels,
-Chris
