The life of Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple was threatened last week for asking citizens to wear face masks to guard against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The perpetrator warned that unless the city’s public health measure was rescinded he would kidnap the mayor and slit his throat.
Earlier this month, FBI agents interrupted a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer because of her measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Members of the same militia group also had plotted to “take” Virginia’s Gov. Ralph Northam.
And in Kentucky, the image of Gov. Andy Beshear was hanged in effigy by right-wing radicals in protest of his administration’s safety measures enacted this spring.
In all four instances, the perpetrators accuse the elected officials (all Democrats) of infringing on their constitutional rights.
Their argument is that they should have the freedom to decide whether to wear a face mask and bear the consequences.
Which would be all well and good if wearing a face mask only prevented people from contracting the virus. To argue you have the freedom to get someone else sick, and in some cases fatally so, is not only misguided, it’s one of the most unpatriotic things being espoused these days.
But the truth is that the more important purpose of wearing a face mask is to prevent others from contracting the virus. It’s by spreading its germs when either sneezing, coughing or just talking, that your mom, your uncle, your co-worker or some complete stranger can get infected.
To argue you have the freedom to get someone else sick, and in some cases fatally so, is not only misguided, it’s one of the most unpatriotic things being espoused these days.
If we were as patriotic as we claim to be, we’d all be wearing patriotic-themed face masks.
THAT SOME Americans have come to view a public health measure as an act of tyranny is the responsibility of President Donald Trump.
It’s by his lack of leadership that a national plan to address the coronavirus has never been developed. By way of an excuse, the president has taken a “shoot the messenger” approach, making public health experts out as the villains.
If we just wouldn’t talk about it, everything would be good, he maintains. Meanwhile, the U.S. death toll to the virus now exceeds 220,000.
We commend those willing to make unpopular decisions in order to save lives. That’s leadership. And we pray for their safety in these dangerous times.
— Susan Lynn
