One woman lives in Virginia under the leadership of Governor Ralph Northam, who is the kind of Democrat that Democrats just 30 years ago would have called a fringe extremist. His lockdown measures are draconian and he’s only tightening the screws every day.

While she works in the northeast where the Democrat infection is so deep that they’ve become absurd, she calls Florida home. It’s a fair distance from Virginia to Florida, but even longer is the ideological gulf that separates the two states. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, Floridians have remained mostly free.

This difference in culture between the two states shocked Elle Reynolds, and penning an article for The Federalist, she made it clear just how much of a difference it was:

For one, I didn’t realize how much I was missing by not seeing people’s faces. I don’t object to people wearing masks if they feel safer; it’s their personal health decision. But when I arrived at the airport to see my family for the first time since August (mid-semester breaks were another COVID casualty), I could actually see their faces.

I went to a café to study the other day and walked past a young pregnant mother with her toddler in tow. None of us were masked, and the toddler and I got to smile and wave at each other as we passed.

Even things that used to annoy me reminded me of what I had missed. I had to slow down for a school zone the other day because kids were actually in school. I never knew I could feel so much joy at slowing down to 20 miles per hour. There were elementary school kids running around the playground for recess.

The downtown scene here is even further proof that people are living their normal lives, unobstructed by fear. My family went out to dinner the other night at a patio bar overlooking our downtown square, all lit up for Christmas. Families took Christmas photos in front of the lighted trees, and others caught rides in horse-drawn carriages circling the block. The patio was packed with guests from a wedding that had just taken place; it was a huge party, unlike the sweet but limited ceremonies my friends were forced to have in Virginia.

While the chain coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin’ are closed to indoor patrons, my favorite local coffeeshop is open and more popular than ever. (And why buy overpriced, mediocre chain coffee anyway?) Looking around, I only see one customer wearing a mask, and only one of the baristas.

As I read this article a few things struck me. For one, Reynolds points out that what she was experiencing in Florida is perfectly normal. The “new normal” that is pushed in Virginia is the abnormal way of living. It’s weird and unnatural.

But what struck me the most is something Reynolds didn’t directly highlight.

In Florida where people are free, their soul is more present. There was a vibrancy in Florida that didn’t exist in Virginia. It was alive while Virginia was lacking in any real personal interaction or fulfillment. In Florida, people were existing.

To say that these lockdowns are just a temporary bit of hell we need to go through in order to survive something isn’t a narrative I believe anymore. It’s clear that the lockdowns don’t work to stop the spread of the virus and only further harm the people by wrecking economies.

What’s more, the only subsistence they can get comes from the government and according to the government, people are worth about $600 of fake money not backed by anything but the hope that you’ll be placated.

Florida is what America is whereas Virginia is what Democrats would like it to be. A place where the spirit is in some sort of oppressive fog. Your existence boils down to a sad allowance from the government that took them nine months to decide on.

The Democrats need to be stopped.