“Don’t get it” and “Don’t spread it”

JOE F. RODRIGUEZ
CITIZEN’S VIEW

The coronavirus pandemic attacked the entire world, and some countries handled it with quick action. However, America is lagging woefully behind.

Besides some politicians including the President of the United States, everyone in the nation was concerned so much as to do their part to minimize the impact of this terrible pandemic on our daily lives.

Governor Abbott made the right move to protect all Texans in ordering a state mandate requiring facial coverings or masks while out in public. However, his own Republican Party attacked him for issuing the mandate. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

I still think that most people do get it. But watching some people refuse to wear facial coverings while out in public really amazes me. Quite frankly, this willfully ignorant behavior is too much for me to bear, and I am frustrated and angry writing about it.

If everyone would just follow the rules aggressively, then this problem would come under so much better control. Our lives would be safe, and our economy would have a fighting chance at reviving.

Some people do not seem to care. COVID-19 is not the enemy; our ignorance and selfish behavior is the enemy. I am embarrassed for us as a nation. I know we can do better, but many days, watching the case numbers and body counts rise, I do lose faith in us.

We, as a unified country, need to take this pandemic seriously. We are losing nearly 1,000 Americans a day to this virus. It is not only unacceptable, it is entirely avoidable.

The true American personal freedom is based on one important consideration, and that is “one is free to do whatever one likes as long as no one else gets hurt.”

Not wearing a mask can actually kill someone else, someone close, a friend, a parent, a grandparent, and even a child. Not wearing a mask is not “personal freedom”; it is actually an act of selfishness.

As of 8/31/2020 @ 9:28 pm, we as a nation represent four percent of the world’s population and more than 22 percent (183,579) of the world’s (849,383) COVID 19 deaths. (Source: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html).

We cannot let this pandemic define us as a nation. Not wearing a mask is an act of selfishness, not personal freedom. Wearing a mask is also a sign of respect for all those doctors, nurses, other medical personnel, and essential workers who go to work every day, praying they are well protected from infection with COVID19.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length. To read the full story, click here or grab a copy of the Sept. 4–10, 2020 issue of the NEWS.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2020/09/03/dont-get-it-and-dont-spread-it/

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