“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately”. Benjamin Franklin
Take a good look at the picture above. Each wearing a mask, each maintaining separation, but each very much alone. No touching, no hugging, no laughing, no playing or enjoying life. The COVID scare has put us into our own little bubble world, separated from most of those we love and cherish. This has real potential ramifications far beyond the potential risk of getting COVID. Let us count the ways, or just a few of them: Depression, Suicide, Abuse (spousal and child), Delayed Health Screenings or Procedures, Dying Alone. We are innately social creatures. A baby will not survive without the constant nurturing of a parent. We all grew up that way, having the need for physical and emotional contact is deeply engrained within each of us. To be removed from that environment is destructive to our species. We need to get back together. Yes, there are risks, but we accept so many risks each day. Do you evaluate the risk of driving when going to get groceries? You could be hurt in a crash. Do you worry about going down stairs, or up a ladder? You could trip and fall. Do you eat a week-old chicken salad in your fridge? You could get food poisoning. Not wearing a mask, and hugging someone could give you COVID. Fortunately, the death rates are plummeting, and have always been extremely low for healthy younger people. Daily COVID cases in the United States dropped from nearly 275,000 cases on January 8, to under 47,000 cases on March 1 of this year (CDC statistics). You may choose to continue wearing your mask for the rest of your life, and live in a protected, isolated bubble, but that is a personal life choice, and you have the freedom to make that choice. However, the government, at any level, does not have the right to make that choice for anyone. Not in this country. We urge all citizens to stop wearing masks, and for all business to fully open, on July 4, 2021. This is the day we will begin to reclaim our freedom. Please join us. If we do it together, the government cannot arrest and ticket all of us, and I do not believe our folks in blue would intervene. What do you think Benjamin Franklin would say?