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Don’t let virus rule lives

This virus isn’t going anywhere. Let’s get the obvious part out of the way.

The question is, how are we going to let it affect our lives? If you listen to the “experts” like Saint Fauci, Governor Dewine, Governor Jim Justice, or the hysterical national and local media, the answer is quite clear: Continue to wear your mask and live in fear. That’s right, no critical thinking for you, pal… you do what you’re told.

The “experts” couldn’t even get on the same page at the beginning of the outbreak. We had the Surgeon General and Fauci both saying not to wear masks, that it wouldn’t do any good. Then, not even a month or two later, it was wear your mask, they save lives. Well, which is it? They can’t both be true. If masks really did work, the infection rate would be much lower than it is. Well, you say, that’s because people aren’t really wearing them, and they just don’t care about other people’s well-being. That’s the easy answer that Dewine, Justice, and so many others continue to give. But, is that really true? I doubt it. But, Mark, you’re not an epidemiologist. That’s ok, neither are you, most likely.

The point is, in a free society, we all make our own choices and are responsible for our own safety. It is not the government’s role to protect us from getting sick. Governors Dewine and Justice have no right to tell anyone to wear a mask, or to close down their business. Mandates are not law. Only the state legislatures can pass laws. Of course, Dewine and Justice care nothing about you, your health, or if you have enough money to pay your bills. All they care about is power. They routinely scold the citizens of their respective states as if they’re little children who are incapable of taking care of themselves and making their own decisions. Of course, if our state legislators had any backbone, they would tell the governors to stand down. The silence from republican legislators has been deafening. I suspect it’s because other republican “higher-ups” have told them to be quiet if they care about their political futures. It’s quite clear to me that they care more about their political careers and playing nice with the establishment than they do about confronting tyrannical governors who continue to stomp on individual liberties.

The media doesn’t help matters, either. If you go to WTAP’s webpage, you’ll be confronted with big red banners on a daily basis, blaring “Two more COVID deaths” or “Three more cases found in local school”. The radio stations are just as bad, as are the newspapers. I wonder when they are going to start announcing deaths from the regular flu or pneumonia? How about from drug overdoses? What about those from suicides because people have lost their jobs or can’t pay their bills because the governor has shut down their small business? No, you won’t hear about those because they don’t fit the narrative. Making sure you continue to live in fear is their real goal. If I watched the news every night, read the paper everyday, and listened to the radio on a regular basis, I’d be paranoid, too. There is no reason to be, though. The media and the idiot politicians have blown this way out of proportion.

Even health care facilities have elevated COVID cases to be their top priority. I wonder how many people have not gone to the doctor or to the ER because they were either afraid of COVID, or they didn’t want to be forced to submit to a COVID test, just to be seen? Perhaps they didn’t want to wear a mask because they have a right to breath clean air, but were turned away by one of the security guards or gatekeepers stationed at the front entrance? The message is clear from most health care facilities. COVID is king. Everything else takes a back seat. You can’t even wait in the doctor office, dentist office or the eye doctor’s office without a mask. They make you wait in your car. This kind of fear is not only ridiculous, it’s irrational.

Look, I’m not saying that the virus doesn’t exist. I don’t think you’ll find anyone who really believes that, but how long are we going to let it cause us to live in fear? We did our part to “flatten the curve,” as was the war cry back in March and April. Get rid of the stupid, non-effective masks and face shields, open everything up and let us live our lives. Use common sense. Wash your hands, and stay home if you’re sick. This virus isn’t going away, just as the ones for the flu and common cold aren’t going to be. The longer this goes on and people stay locked down, the worse the situation is going to be. It’s only prolonging the inevitable. At some point, you will be exposed, if you haven’t been, already. You may be exposed, but may not even get sick, who knows?

We need to get back to work, get back to church, and get back to school. This virus will only rule our lives, if we let it.

Mark Hartshorn

Marietta

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