My true hope in addressing Daily Post readers this week is to attempt to shift the focus on this topic from politizing science to using Reason, Common Sense, and Solidarity. Exclusive or heavy reliance on personal opinion or public input while dismissing vitally necessary input from professionals and experts is wrong, irrational, irresponsible, reckless, disrespectful and to some, even immoral. A strategy that effectively ‘promotes’ personal and public input to the level of expert testimony is unacceptable as it clearly fails to address the main priority: protecting human lives.
Most aggravating is to hear the Town Council convey a message of care or that their goal is to protect people, respect our culture, our health. That seems disingenuous. Competent leaders would have spared us of the recent increase of one million new cases accrued just in the last month, and could spare us of another million coming up in what will be much less than a month. The number of deaths will, without a doubt, be staggering. I urge the Council to consider how well they did their part.
The bottom line is that it is difficult to see a caring and kind attitude when the duty to let health and medical experts take the main stage to help guide local officials is not upheld. Hesitating over wording so as to never mandate, enforce, or ‘tell people what to do’ is not a virtue when one sits on a Town Council facing a pandemic. Enforcement is very possible when one is willing to leave politics aside, take the high road, and get to work.
Enforcement is not a new concept, as we know: “shirt and shoes required”, “no smoking area”, “no alcohol beyond this point”, ”no concealed weapons beyond this point” — just to mention a few. Enforcement provides additional revenue in the form of fines to individuals and businesses refusing to follow the new ordinance, to help cover the expense of the additional law enforcement duties. Fines are somewhere between 100 – 5,000 euros in European countries for those who refuse to use a mask in public places. Enforcement brings clear rules and removes confusion and dissension.
I can’t agree more with the idea that one cannot demand respect from others. It must be earned. Negligence to protect human lives does not deserve respect. If one’s home, town, or mountains were engulfed by blazing fires destroying wildlife, human lives, businesses… there would be no hesitation whatsoever to quickly enlist the best professionals in order to save lives, homes and businesses. It would not be a matter of ‘personal choice’ to stay at home or to walk straight into the blazing fires. At this time, Colorado is engulfed by the pandemic which will continue to take too many lives without the proper measures. Personal freedoms, rights, constitutional or not should never be the priority when public safety needs to be the priority during crisis, disasters, wars, fires, or pandemics in order to help save lives.
Personal freedom, or personal choices are limited and never absolute or infinite. These end where the others’ personal rights begin. One can, for example, exercise one’s ‘personal choice’ and can walk into the post office downtown without a mask, pregnant, and with little kids too. Alright. However, if this group stands in line, one foot behind me, it becomes my personal right — and the end of theirs — to request personal space and distance.
If there has ever been a better time to be united and patriotic — since 9/11, or since hurricanes like Katrina and Maria — that moment is now.
Margarita Del Val, a Spanish Virologist and Inmunologist, with the Spanish National Research Council, recently stated:
“Those refusing to wear masks are not the most valiant. On the contrary, they are the least respectful to his/her fellow citizens. The least respectful to health care workers, elderly and family members with chronic health conditions.”
For reference, see this Huffington Post article (note: Spanish language version.)
I would add to her list the profound disrespect conveyed by those not wearing masks towards all essential workers such as cashiers, grocery store workers, liquor store workers, post office workers, public transportation workers, school teachers, public library workers, just to name a few. This selfish, reckless and disrespectful behavior is enabled by not mandating and enforcing proper public health measures. Personal choice, personal rights don’t have a place when addressing a public (not “personal”) issue of this magnitude. Not doing your part results in the infringement of others’ rights to health and to life. Such an infringement is definitely not your personal right.
We all need to be together, while being apart. Human life cannot be taken for granted. We truly can’t expect that others will be there for us when we need them the most. We cannot expect that a hospital will even have beds available in your town, or state, if we don’t take part in this effort together. We cannot expect to continue living life as usual and indulging in personal pleasures during a public health crisis and not face irreversible damage, irreparable losses, death, or other tragic consequences.
We cannot expect that businesses will survive without protecting their workers first. Don’t wait until it truly becomes personal, until it burns unbearably close. It is inhumane to not mandate a mask at this time. It is heartbreaking to hear from essential workers in town that they go home to self-isolate to prevent infecting family members because without a mandate, customers continue to act out “their personal rights.” The time to do what is right for all is now. Do your part. To businesses who do not require masks, be informed that I will not shop in your place now or in the future. Instead, I will take my wallet to businesses in town or out of town who demonstrate solidarity, not greed and immature self-centeredness. Once visitors leave, you might miss the locals.
To our local officials, I will respectfully ask that the current resolution be immediately modified to include sound enforceable mandates and measures using experts’ guidance and advice. Given the nature of this crisis, I would also strongly encourage and request that the town council in its entirety, humbly considers resigning if unable or unwilling to make necessary changes. The right to health, life and future is first.
Ana M. Sancho Sama
Pagosa Springs, CO
This article is dedicated to my sister Pilar, who fought to save lives in Madrid, Spain, at the Red Cross Hospital. She and many others worked during the worst part of the pandemic, witnessing deaths daily, and at every shift. She said “I am needed there, I love what I do. I hope that when I need care, others will be there for me.” She contracted the virus and luckily recovered. She is on medical leave now, working through the psychological trauma. Thank you, Pilar. All of my respect, gratitude and admiration to you and to all the healthcare workers who sacrificed so much in this pandemic. Your selflessness is beyond words.
Ana M. Sancho Sama, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, lives in Spain.