Quote:
Originally Posted by Dadhawk
Or, people could take personal responsibility for their actions and heed specific health warnings without having to have it mandated to them. It is not a politicians responsibility to attempt to force us to do the right thing. We should be willing to do that ourselves. That's the real issue.
|
In a perfect, utopian world, that would theoretically be ideal. The key word you said is "should". But that doesn't exist in most places on Earth, with a few isolated exceptions. A few problems with that approach:
1. Most people are terrible at judging risk. It's human nature. We underestimate risk, and when we do something and 'get away' with it (like eating indoors in a restaurant at the height of the pandemic), it encourages us to push the boundaries even more.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...9a6_story.html
2. Most people are not capable of understanding the scientific facts and therefore the dangers of the pandemic. Most people aren't trained in medicine, biology, epidemiology, etc. They get their 'information' from FaceBook and not reputable sources. Most people need someone else to analyze and interpret the data and decide on the best course of action, because they're incapable of doing it themselves.
Think about how stupid the average person is in this country. Then consider that half of people are even dumber than that.
3. When a government allows something, people naturally assume that it must be safe to do so - otherwise, why would it be permitted? When state governments (like Texas, Florida, and others) allow bars and restaurants to be open for indoor dining without masks, people assume that it's OK to go there (and also because they want to believe it whether it's true or not), despite evidence that this only spread infections and cost lives.
https://jkms.org/DOIx.php?id=10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e415
https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...s-hotels-risk/
4. Most aspects of life are beyond an individual's control. If a government creates an unsafe environment with prematurely opened bars, restaurants, gyms, etc., contagion is everywhere. Virions don't follow any limits or boundaries. If a state government creates an unsafe environment, then anyone walking into a supermarket to buy food or pharmacy to get medicines is at increased risk, because of what the government has done. The result can be this -
https://www.golocalprov.com/news/ri-...ng-to-new-data
Personal responsibility can only go so far. Even if someone is diligent about wearing good masks, social distancing, etc., they can still get infected in a supermarket or other place where they need to go just to live. The onus must be on leaders to make the environment safe for everyone, not for individuals to try and figure out a way for them as individuals to compensate for the malfeasance and incompetence of their leaders. Personal responsibility shouldn't mean having to seal yourself inside a glass bubble and isolate yourself from the environment in order to stay alive.
We elect our leaders to look out for
our best interests, not theirs. Part of that responsibility is to make our environment safe to live. Not to put our health and lives at risk so that some of their cronies can make a few bucks off of it.
5. Being safe really is good for an economy -
Unemployment Rates
States with generally LOW infection rates over time
Days w/critical infection
Year end 2019 2020 levels since 3/1/20
Vermont 2.5% 3.5% 16
Oregon 3.3% 6.3% 50
Maine 2.8% 5.0% 52
States with generally HIGH infection rates over time
Year end 2019 2020
Rhode Island 3.6% 7.9% 186
New Jersey 3.6% 7.7% 180
Massachusetts 2.9% 8.4% 134
Connecticut 3.6% 8.2% 128
Sources: data.bls.gov for unemployment statistics
covidactnow.org for data on number of days with "critical" infection levels
6. You can't count on people to organically do it all on their own. Too many people are selfish, short-sighted, closed-minded, and ignorant if not outright stupid. That's just the way it is. Even if a majority of people on their own do the right thing (like Vermont seems to have done), a sizable majority of maskholes, covidiots, and anti-vaxxers will still create a big enough problem to make it dangerous for everyone.
Unfortunately, you need smart, dedicated, ethical, strong leadership willing to make hard, unpopular decisions to do the right thing for society. They need to
lead people to doing the right thing, the things that most people can't or won't do on their own. We're sadly lacking that in much of this country, at all levels. Which is why 'Merica is still the world leader in per capita COVID infection rates and deaths.