Letter to the Editor: Never forget

Dear Editor,

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of prominent scientists challenged the prevailing government approach to lockdowns. In a June 9, 2026 WSJ video posted on YouTube, “The Lockdown Dissidents,” they described how they were sidelined and censored when they questioned the public health consensus.

At the end of this video, Scott W. Atlas, MD, Special Advisor to the President on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Aug.-Nov. 2020, states, “My greatest fear is that we didn’t learn the lessons from COVID. We’re a country founded on freedom. We are the world’s beacon of freedom. We have codified freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and we broke all those guaranteed freedoms. And if freedoms can be taken away during any scenario, including emergency, then they’re not guaranteed freedoms.”

Michael Pack, producer, writer and director, concludes, “Americans generally don’t want to look back at COVID. Most of us would rather forget and return to normal life. But we need to remember, not just move on. Next crisis, will we defend freedom of speech, especially in science? We, the people, are responsible for guarding all our inalienable rights, no matter who runs the government, or what excuse they give” (narrated by Tim Blacke Nelson).

Genevieve Briand

Byron