When stories about a new disease appear, it’s unsurprising that frightened people rush to bad decisions. Now that we know more about COVID-19, perhaps our decisions can be better.
We know that the disease is deadly primarily for those with underlying health conditions. To others, it’s mild to asymptomatic. Most deaths have been in nursing homes and extended-care facilities. It’s not especially deadly in the general population.
We know that people contract the virus by being in enclosed spaces with carriers for extended periods of time.
We know that there are no confirmed cases of it being contracted out-of-doors.
We know that surfaces are poor vectors of the disease.
We know that efforts to contain the virus were an abject failure except in small, isolated populations.
We know that “six feet” is an arbitrary distance with no basis in science.
An increasing number of people are realizing that the only way to come out of this virus event is to achieve herd immunity, through exposure or vaccination or a combination.
Government actions are not reflecting these realities.
Some government actions may be worsening the situation by extending the life span of the virus, giving it time to mutate into forms that are immune to the resistance that people are forming. Must I mention the potential health hazards of breathing through a mesh of synthetics, or containing a warm, moist area against your face beneath your “protective” mask?
In the face of clueless, over-reaching government, it’s time to allow people to make their own decisions. Since current government mandates are frequently pointless, and demonstrably hazardous to people’s physical, economic and psychological health, it’s tragic that the public is being disallowed to pursue its own self-interest. More freedom is needed, not less.
You should be free to protect yourself to the fullest extent of your imagination. Don protective gear; have all your needs delivered to you; curtail all human contact. Or not. You have the right and the responsibility to protect yourself. Others don’t have the responsibility to protect you unless they choose to assume that role.
Businesses should be free to shutter, to require their employees wear protective gear or work from home, but they should not be forced to do so, or to pay an hour’s wage for no work. Businesses should be free to remain open if they choose, and the customer can decide which to patronize.
The especially vulnerable should be protected, and the ailing treated, as is done in other situations. Those decisions should be decided at the family and community level, not by the State or Federal governments or the WHO.
Correcting Susan Worgaftik (“Women’s needs must be considered,” My Turn, May 15): No, I didn’t say “curtailing freedom is worse than any disease….” I said that people should be free to balance the risk with the reward of any action they take rather than be forced into obedience to the State.
No, I didn’t say “if we all took our independent ability to make our own decisions, all would be well.” I said that if people make their own decisions, some are wise and some less so, but those individuals have the inherent right to decide their actions for themselves and individually accept the consequences.
It’s histrionic to say: “I … do not have a choice about whether you breathe this virus onto us….” You certainly do. You can avoid people you deem to be infectious. You can wear full protective gear when going out. You can fully encloister yourself. You can do whatever you decide is the best course for your own protection. I have no desire to deprive you of that right, but I never accepted responsibility for your welfare. Contrary to your desires, that’s your responsibility, not mine. Otherwise, you are reducing me to servitude. That may be your intended Utopia, but I will resist.
John Blasiak is a resident of Greenfield.