There are others in this, too

Much has been made in recent weeks about various governmental edicts such as Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” coronavirus order, and the curtailment they may be placing on Americans’ constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms. This situation has certainly drawn a fine line for elected leaders to walk, between protecting the general public’s health and ensuring we all have as much freedom as possible to go about our daily lives.

The debate is rigorous in our rural area, as the protections put in place seem far more relevant to the larger population centers. We practice social distancing here to some extent all the time, because a crowd to us is four people lined up at the Kwik Trip counter.

So why can’t they just shut down Milwaukee and Madison and Waukesha and wherever, and leave us alone? Would that it were that simple, because without putting roadblocks around every urban area to keep people from leaving, there’d be no containment. Imagine, if we had no restrictions in place here, and our local restaurants and taverns were allowed to open, how we’d look upon a stranger walking in who might be carrying a germ in from the big city. Public health closures are as much about containing spread from place to place as they are for limiting local contact.

Another argument we hear is that people who fear for their health should just stay home then, while those of us who don’t believe the hype or just don’t give a darn should be able to move about freely. We are given that right by the Constitution, by golly, and far be it from any governor or anyone else to tell us otherwise.

We might be more agreeable to that opinion were it not for evidence that people may have the virus without knowing, and can unwittingly carry and spread it to others. True, you do have the right to do as you please, in most instances, as long as you are not infringing upon laws or others’ rights. Yes, the Constitution says you can do it, but common decency says otherwise.

Sometimes we have to be concerned more about other people than what unfettered liberty might allow.