Don’t be self-centered: wear a mask for everyone

Don’t be self-centered: wear a mask for everyone

Social intercourse in the time of corona is like Russian roulette. We know that some of us are infected but unaware that they are transmitting the virus. Could be me, or it could be you.

Epidemiologists tell us that wearing a mask dramatically restricts the spread of the disease. This gives us, the good citizens of Eagle, Pitkin, and Garfield counties, a better opportunity to reopen our schools and our economy, and reduces the likelihood that many of us, especially seniors and those with pre-existing health conditions,

will wind up on a ventilator, or 6 feet under.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but a significant minority of our citizenry objects mightily to the requirement, or even the expectation, that they wear a mask. Their belligerence threatens the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of their fellow Americans. Why would anyone refuse to perform this simple act of goodwill?

Surely you’re not so self-centered as to think only of your own personal comfort. You might survive the corona with few or no symptoms, but what about dad, or your dear sweet granny? Your insistence on exercising your “rights” could put someone you love in an early grave.

While we wait for an effective vaccine, please don’t stand in the way of reopening our economy, our schools, our public institutions, by refusing to wear a mask. Show respect for the essential workers who put their lives on the line for us every day. We can live with this virus and still function as a society, but only if we all do our part.

Ed Colby

New Castle