The masking issue, social distancing, business closings, and now the push for everyone above the age of five to be vaccinated are some of the things involved in the controversy. Your attitude about each of the topics may vary. I do not want to change your position on these. I simply want to deal with information that some people have been giving that is not factual.

Government should not tell us what we can and cannot do. You are going to receive a letter in the mail in the next week. Be waiting for it. It is from one of your neighbors. The state has decided to build a maximum-security prison on property within three blocks of your home. They want you to join them at a zoning meeting next week to protest this decision. Will you join them?

Why should the city do anything to prevent this from happening in your backyard? You and your neighbors say it is a matter of public safety. Who cares?

The local newspaper has stopped publishing the reports from the health department about inspections of local food service establishments. They say these are not important as they once were. Your child had a terrible case of stomach flu and suddenly you look at an old newspaper and see that your favorite restaurant has been cited twelve times in the last year for leaving food out for longer than recommended. Who cares?

You are being prepped for surgery at the local hospital. None of the nurses, technicians, or doctors are wearing masks. You ask about this and their reply is that they heard that you did not think that masks were necessary during the Covid-19 scare because wearing a mask would not protect you. They have decided not to wear them around you during surgery because they are a lot of trouble. They know you will understand.

Some day cancer will be eliminated from the lists of hazards in our lives. This has been written in internet blogs by many of your favorite writers. It does not concern you when the Surgeon General announces that tobacco companies do not have to print the warning label on the side of the cigarette packages anymore. You don’t care because you haven’t smoked in years.

The Federal government has decided that seat belts, airbags, and other automobile safety equipment is not used by everyone, and congress is in the process of repealing all these laws. The automobile manufacturers are ecstatic. This will save thousands of dollars on every vehicle. They won’t even have to cut the prices.

One last item in case you have not caught on to what I am saying. All the stop signs, yield signs, traffic lights, and other street markers are going to be removed in your city. It has been decided by the city authorities that 20 percent of drivers do not obey them. If they don’t care, why should anyone else? You have even broken those laws yourself. Apparently, you don’t care either.

My point is that the only reason we live in a civilized society is that we care about each other and they care about us. If all rules of conduct are violated because we don’t care anymore, we are back to the dark ages, and life as we know it ceases to exist. That’s o.k. You want to do what you want to do.