Be Someone Who Cares

 I am tapped out.

I am out of sympathy for the millions of willfully ignorant people who deny this pandemic. For those who still refuse to wear a mask and to avoid large crowds. For those who ignored the pleas of public health officials and infectious disease experts who urged them not to travel for Thanksgiving. Now we are seeing the results of their ignorance and selfishness. 

I no longer care about these willfully ignorant people. I do care about all the innocent people they have infected. And I care about the healthcare workers who have died because of willfully ignorant people. I care about the healthcare workers who are being pushed to the brink while trying to save people who didn't care enough to try to save themselves. I care about the physicians who soon will be forced to decide which patients receive a hospital bed and treatment, and which do not when the hospitals are filled to capacity.

I am saddened by the deaths of the thousands of people who did the right things but got infected anyway. I am sorry for the spouses, the siblings, the children, the parents, the grandparents and the friends of those who did the right things but died anyway because some can't be troubled to wear a mask or to stay away from bars. 

I have relatives who have been sick with Covid-19. One of them, who is diabetic, was hospitalized. She is home now, but still quite sick. Her husband and teenage sons are recovering. 

I get it. Wearing a mask isn't comfortable. It makes my glasses steam up. Some masks hurt my ears. It isn't 'normal' for those of us not in the healthcare professions to wear masks. But you know what? Nothing about life during this pandemic is 'normal.' Knowing that close to 300,000 of my fellow Americans have died during the past 10 months is not 'normal.' Wearing a mask helps protect me from getting sick, whether it's from the coronavirus or the flu. Wearing a mask also helps protect others from any communicable disease I might have, such as asymptomatic coronavirus, the flu or a cold. 

Most of us are not being asked to wear a mask all the time. Wearing a mask for 20 or 30 minutes every week or two when I go grocery shopping isn't a hardship. It doesn't make me look fearful or weak. Being asked to wear a mask doesn't violate my rights and it isn't unconstitutional. It does make me look like someone who doesn't want to get sick or possibly infect others. It makes me look like someone who cares.

Not wearing a mask makes people appear selfish or ignorant or both. Being selfish and ignorant, and putting those qualities on public display, is nothing of which to be proud. 

Please, make the small sacrifices needed to get this pandemic under control. Yes, vaccines are on the way, but it will take several months to vaccinate enough people to make a difference. 

Please, be someone who cares.