During my years in journalism, one of my jobs was as editor and publisher of The Hays Daily News.
One day, a student working on a master’s in history visited the newspaper to share his research for his master’s thesis, which focused on the history of the newspaper.
Frank Motz founded the Hays Daily News in 1929, not long after the stock market crashed. I had always assumed the 1930s were tough for Motz and his young newspaper, but his research showed that the years during World War II were even tougher.
Regrettably, I don’t remember the student’s name, and I didn’t keep notes on his research, but it was a revelation.
Many businesses in non-defense sectors struggled during World War II to find and keep workers.
And businesses such as newspapers were hit hard by rationing — of gasoline and paper, for example. At the same time, most businesses stopped or reduced their advertising. Stores had limited merchandise, and consumers were by law severely restricted in what they could buy.
Meat, sugar, shoes, tires and fuel were just a few items on the long list of what was legally rationed.
Every American was affected.
Did those Americans whine and scream about their rights and government overreach?
I’m sure some of them did. Just as some of them violated rationing laws by buying things on black markets that thrived during the war. Some also defied blackout rules at night, or avoided the draft.
But most Americans understood the need for sacrifice, largely because there was a consistent, coordinated message from federal and state officials.
Today’s threat from COVID-19 is different from the threat posed by Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan. But the pandemic does raise questions about whether Americans in 2020 are willing to sacrifice even a little for the collective good.
Many who oppose government mandates for face masks and social distancing argue that it’s not an issue of sacrifice; they say they oppose the rules on principle.
That explanation doesn’t fly.
First, few to none of the conservatives complaining about masks voiced any objections when the federal government restricted our rights to travel freely abroad.
