Quote:
Originally Posted by Discombobulated
This other friend does seem to have changed his mind since the 2nd wave and is taking it seriously now but I am left feeling the friendship is not the same, I do think less of him than I did and to be fair maybe he feels the same. It's sad but maybe this uncovered a fundamental difference between us (he seems to value freedom of the individual whereas I felt it should be temporarily sacrificed for the good of the whole population).
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It is good that at least this friend finally changed his mind. IMO, during the Spring of last year when we were first learning about this virus--many, many people (including experts!) changed their stances on some of these issues like mask wearing, etc. IMO, many of us just didn't understand and were still learning about a new virus which is not still fully understood and has mutated as well. I was disappointed that our former president never fully acknowledged that mask wearing is an important tool for controlling the virus (it is not perfect which I know is quite scary for some
). It also seemed like he emphasized his quick recovery from the virus (which was good) but he had the best medical care, something many do not have in the US. Also, however, the former president did point out that shutting everything down puts others at risk as well (suicide rates are spiking; the homeless have no where to go (when my son was homeless, he depended on the gym for his showers and the coffee shop to get out of the bad weather for a while); many in the US who are unemployed, do not qualify for unemployment (they are suffering greatly with few good options); and the list goes on!
There are hard choices to be made regarding this issue. For a while, I was registered as a Libertarian and do believe in individual freedom but I believe that individual freedom stops (or at least should be regulated) when it effects others freedom, safety and happiness. So, since the virus is obviously killing so many and is spread through the air, my POV is the the anti-maskers look a little ridiculous--though I must admit that I would like to be able to continue to take my outdoor walks mask free--I live in a neighborhood where I can easily social distance from other walkers. I want to add, that I think we should all try to respect the authority and position of our elected officials, police, etc--if too many people do not follow the rules--it causes chaos and worsens the crisis. The whole world is in a very serious crisis right now.
I know I need to stay informed in order to protect myself but I also need to limit how much I dwell on all the bad news. It is causing a whole lot of anxiety for all of us.
