A Covid Parable

A new road was built in Texas. It was a very good road, so the State Legislature decided it didn’t need a speed limit — it could be like the Autobahn in Germany.

After a few months, it was clear that there were several speed-related deaths every day on this road, so the State decided to impose a speed limit after all.

As soon as the speed limit was posted, hundreds of Good Ol’ Boys in huge pickups with chrome bull balls screamed, “Stalinism!” and many stock brokers in their Tesla Roadsters complained that, “This is an unacceptable infringement of my inalienable rights.” The speed limit signs were full of bullet holes within weeks.

So, as soon as the death rate had dropped by half, the speed limit was rescinded, the road was declared “back to normal” and the Highway Patrol was instructed not to report any further accidents on that road.