If sense were common, everyone would have it (or so you’d think.)

A man walked into a Waffle House to place an order for food. On the entrance door to the restaurant there was a sign saying “Face Masks Required”. The Waffle House cook refused to make the man’s food unless he donned a face mask. The man left and returned with a mask but refused to wear it. The cook refused service and after some calming by the man’s friend, they left. The next morning he returned without his mask, was refused service again so he pulled a gun and shot the cook. He’s been charged with attempted first degree murder.

     Another man gave the excuse that not wearing a face mask and not social distancing was “his constitutional right”.

     An older woman exclaimed the “government” didn’t have the right to keep her from getting her hair cut as she waved a sign proclaiming the virus didn’t cancel her rights.

     A man called his protective face mask a – muzzle – ‘er, excuse me, mask dictated by the government.

     A hair stylist was symptomatic but cut 84 heads anyway, exposing all those people he worked on. He later tested positive for COVID-19, as did over half the people whose hair he worked on.

     The Governor of North Dakota (in tears) asked his citizenry to wear masks and socially distance not as a mandate but because this is a serious, deadly disease and you may come into contact with those who are most vulnerable to becoming very sick or dying.

     College-age students crowded Boulder Creek for tubing, drinking and socializing. When interviewed they proudly exclaiming they knew they weren’t doing the right thing but having fun was more important so “what are you going to do?”

     As citizens of the United States of America, you are guaranteed “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” You have the right to refuse to wear a simple little face mask that is uncomfortable for EVERYONE, not just you. You have the right to crowd into restaurants, bars, hair salons, churches and congregate on beaches.

     What you DON’T have the right to do is infect me. Or my husband. Or any others who are designated as vulnerable. You don’t have the right to put other persons at risk because you “want to do what you have a Right to do”. Because testing has been lagging due to supply shortages, no one knows how many persons have coronavirus. Being asymptomatic doesn’t mean you aren’t contagious. It doesn’t  mean you can’t spread the disease to everyone around you. Opening up and rushing to gather will almost certainly guarantee a second wave. If shutting down everything was hard the first time, having to do it a second time will be worse.

     The small sacrifices we are making and should be willing to make are nothing compared to planning funerals that no one can attend. And just because you are related to someone doesn’t mean you can’t contract or spread coronavirus. When you gather with family or friends,  you are gathering with everyone they have come into contact with, and everyone they have come into contact with, and so on and so on and so on. It’s something to think about.