by John McLoone

It’s going to get worse

I have a bad feeling about where we’re headed as a nation.

While I traditionally don’t believe our lives need to be guided by endless rules and regulations, we might need some more right about now.

I think America is either at the point where we’re plunging aimlessly down the path to get herd immunity against COVID-19 or we have to do something about it.

My guess is that regardless who wins the presidency, more strict restrictions are going to have to be put in place. I take that back: Maybe the regulations that are in place will have to be followed.

I admit that I don’t spend my entire life wearing a mask. You see those people drive by on the highway wearing a mask in their car? I’m not one of them. However, if I enter a business where masks are required, I’m going to honor that rule and wear mine.

I’m surprised by the number of people who have little regard for that request.

The grocery store seems to have a pretty good mask to non-mask percentage. For some people, the length of time they’re going to be in a store seems to dictate whether they wear masks. If they just run in for one thing, perhaps putting that mask on would just take too much time.

I know I’m probably not the right guy to preach about this. I wasn’t wild about the mask mandate, but I’ll repeat what I’ve said all along: If it keeps businesses from being shut down, I’m going to wear a mask, and you should too. Business is tough to do in every small town. It’s tougher in a pandemic. It’s a losing battle if the government steps in and slaps more restrictions on your ability to pay your bills.

COIVD-19 is definitely closing its noose around our necks. It’s popping up a lot closer to home, and I won’t be surprised when the first shoe that drops is all schools going virtual again. That’s tough on a lot of families. Could it be avoided? At this point, I’d say probably not. A lot of people have subscribed to the philosophy that they’re going to get it anyway. I overheard one guy say, “It’s like chicken pox. You want to get it when you’re young.” Sound logical? Maybe ….if chicken pox was something that was going to kill a lot of people who need to be kept safe from it.

Maybe masks don’t work like we’re told they do, but they’re definitely one line of defense.

I don’t know if there are tougher jobs than in the public health sector right now. It used to be small town newspaper owner, but that just slipped to number two on the list. We need to be more appreciative of what they do, even if they’re always feeding us bad news.

If we don’t start listening, it’s going to get a lot worse.