Misinformation unmasked

If it weren’t so tragic, the stupidity of our county commissioners would be humorous.

No, wearing masks isn’t a personal choice. You don’t wear masks to protect yourself. You wear masks to protect others.

No, it doesn’t matter whether cases are coming from contacts made outside the county. Once the infection gets here, it spreads here. The more we see county residents venturing elsewhere for socializing, shopping, or sports, the more COVID-19 we get inside the county.

No, it isn’t an overreaction because not a lot of people are dying. The only reason the death toll has remained relatively low is that we haven’t overwhelmed the medical system with a sudden rush of cases that overtax scarce resources and make experimental treatments that have saved so many lives impractical.

No, it isn’t about wearing masks inside tractor cabs in the middle of fields. It’s only about wearing masks when you’re within six feet of others in a public place.

No, it isn’t about how to police a mask requirement. We don’t arrest people who refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of commission meetings, but commissioners still require it.

Every plan to restore any semblance of normalcy in our society is based on the assumption that people will wear masks when within six feet of each other in public and avoid unnecessary exposure from unnecessary shopping, sports, and socialization.

Clearly, that isn’t going to happen, so all plans to resume school, sports, and other activities are exercises in futility that will end up costing us trillions of dollars and thousands if not millions of lives.

It’s time for commissioners and other politicians to stop pandering to ignorant radicals who vote them into office and start considering that more intelligent voters aren’t going to put up with this much longer.

— ERIC MEYER