How should we deal with people who make our national crisis worse by refusing to adopt effective safety practices?  Over six million Americans have been diagnosed with the Covid -19.  More than 180,000 have died.  Millions more have lost jobs and the ability to support themselves.  The national debt that we must repay will soon be more than the total value of everything the nation produces in a year for the first time since the end of WWII.

Our most effective weapons in a war against the virus are:

1. Wear a mask in public places
2. Maintain social distance.
3. Don’t congregate in large groups.

We lack leadership and enforcement of those practices, especially at the national level, where our President routinely denies the facts and refuses to personally adopt safe practices.  As a result, we are among the hardest hit nations in the world.

Why do we passively accept anti-social behavior from people who endanger our families and livelihoods?  Safety practices can become behavior standards for our communities and our nation when enough of us speak up directly to those who misbehave.  That won’t be a pleasant task but it is not nearly as difficult as allowing a virus to rule our lives.

Some retail clerks and managers say they fear abusive behavior and threats by anti-maskers; and that is why they don’t enforce their own rules.  Anti-maskers are getting their way through noisy intimidation and bullying.  They are impeding our war effort and allowing the virus to linger; and they will continue until responsible citizens stand up to them.  I’ve seen a few folks publicly confront those who are not doing their part.  It is uncomfortable, but I am learning to do it too.  We are at war with a virus.  Those who do not follow safety practices endanger us all.  Their traitorous behavior is unacceptable.

The death toll, economic damage, inability to operate schools normally, and other consequences of not masking, not distancing, and allowing unsafe mass gatherings is a burden that good citizens should not have to bear.  The nations in the chart above are home to freedom loving people that are succeeding against the virus.  They all have leaders who are educating the public and pushing voluntary compliance. Many also have penalties for non-compliance. Germany,

France, Australia, South Korea, Japan, UK, and Canada have all used fines or other penalties at times when voluntary compliance didn’t work.

It’s difficult to fathom why police and prosecutors are resistant to enforcement, when laws or emergency orders are in place.  One common explanation is lack of resources, but that doesn’t stand up to close examination.  The virus is the most dangerous and immediate threat to our public safety.  Consider that police do have resources to monitor speed limit violations by radar.  Some of that time could be reallocated to routine checks of masking compliance at high risk locations.  Masking compliance could also become part of routine patrols.  If someone calls to report a mask or distancing violation, it can be triaged in the same way as other calls.  A violent crime in progress is a high priority.  Taking an in-person report of a stolen lawn mower is a lower priority.  Police make triage decisions every day and they generally do it well.

Many Americans are masking, distancing and avoiding crowds because they have believed CDC advice, because they care for others and because it’s the right thing to do.  But now the Trump administration is manipulating information from CDC and other sources to sow doubt about scientific facts.  They are misleading rather than leading their loyalists.

Americans have been watching a microscopic virus take away our schools, churches, businesses, friends and families.  The non-performance of our government at the national and local level leaves the work to individuals and private groups.  That’s why we need to have plain-talk conversations with anyone who doesn’t mask or distance; and refuse to passively accept the deaths and damage that they are causing.  Patriotic Americans do not sit idle while the nation is losing a war.  We’re running out of time and resources to fight the virus.  Think about it.  How will you help?

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