As we enter what could be our third full month in quarantine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's allowed us all to stop for a moment in our busy lives and judge what really matters.
We have all taken up hobbies and cleaning efforts as we're all cooped up in our homes. Some have great jobs doing this. While others, rightfully so, are getting a bit stir crazy and going out more than they should.
And as we have seen in these past two-and-a-half months, some large crowds--mainly those who support President Trump--have continued to defy numerous stay-at-home orders that are meant to protect public health. Perhaps the most striking of these demonstrations were the ones that went down in the Michigan State Capitol, where dozens of conservative protesters holstered guns claiming that Governor Gretchen Whitmer implemented these orders as a political gesture.
Though I understand the frustration and sentiment of these protesters, with all due respect, I have to say their actions are going to get all of us killed.
Needless to say, we all want to return to some form of normalcy as quickly as possible. These protesters have a genuine argument in that sources of income are drying up, our ways of coping in quarantine are beginning to bore us and most of us are sick of being anxious over whether we'll contract COVID-19.
But that is the whole point of these stay-at-home order. Non-essential businesses are closed to stop the spread. Masks are required to curtail our droplets from entering the air. Social distancing is meant to stop those same droplets from entering our own bodies.
When people continue to defy these guidelines, insisting that these measures are part of some kind of political agenda, they are doing nothing but make this pandemic keep going on for much longer.
This is not meant to be a call-out post for anyone hanging with their friends in small numbers. As long as you follow social distancing, practice long habits of quarantining and limit being in public spaces, then you are absolutely fine. But if we continue to misunderstand what a "pandemic" actually means, then we're going to experience that very meaning for quite some time.
I get people's frustrations. I really do. But the fact of the matter is that viruses are not political. They aren't conspiracies, nor are they Chinese. They do not give two craps about your political views, skin color, gender identity or age. People of all kinds have tested positive and even died from this virus. When large groups congregate, they are essentially saying that their politics are more superior to science.
Do not fall for the bait. Stay home, save lives, and take care when you decide to get together with small groups of friends.
