After the cataract surgery yesterday morning, I was ordered to be a couch potato for the remainder of the day and refrain from heavy reading and computer work so I, being the good patient I am (I have had lots of practice!), didn’t really have much time to read about what was going on in the world to figure out what to write about today. However, I did read a letter to the editor in the paper this morning that made just an incredible amount of sense to me so I decided to just share it in its entirety.
[Just for the record, the vision in my right eye is now crystal clear and, in a week, my left eye should follow suit and I will be back to clear vision! After the surgery, as I was getting ready to leave, the nurse said, “No wonder you couldn’t see, that was one big cataract!! The retinal surgeon who did the first surgery had told me that the surgery would accelerate the growth of the cataract. I guess he wasn’t lying! In any case, all appears to be well. I have worn contacts since 1972 and that era is coming to an end. Yeah!]
With the COVID death toll approaching 500,000 and, in spite of that, states like Montana are choosing to repeal state-wide mask mandates, the following Letter to the Editor really struck a chord with me this morning.
“Wearing a mask not unlike putting the safety on”
There is a golden rule among firearm owners to treat all weapons as if they were loaded. You always keep your safety on and you never point your weapon at someone. There are thousands of needless tragedies and fatalities have occurred when these rules are not followed.
Every one of these deaths are tragic, but I cannot imagine how the emotional trauma is compounded when family members are involved, as when, for example, a daughter accidently kills her father on a hunting outing because she couldn’t detect a bullet hidden in the chamber of her gun. In this instance, a life is lost and another is forever burdened with grief and guilt.
Not once in my 50 years as a hunter and gun owner, I have I heard anybody complain or protest that their “freedoms” are being compromised because they are expected to keep their safety on and not point their weapon (loaded or unloaded) at someone. Universally, you respect the lethal potential of your weapon and you respect the people around you.
So, I am troubled by the belligerence of some members of my state who refuse to wear a mask in these times of extreme pandemic. Like it or not, today any one of us could be carrying a deadly but undetected virus like a bullet hidden in our chamber. Read the news: daughters and sons are accidentally killing strangers and family members alike. Deaths are rising and businesses are locked down or forever closed because of rampant Covid transmission. Wearing a mask is not about giving up freedom. It’s about respecting the lethal potential of this invisible weapon called Covid. It’s about avoiding the tragedy of accidentally killing loved ones and strangers. It’s about respecting life and respecting each other. Please “put your safety on” by wearing a mask.” [Doug Mavor, Bozeman]
Extremely well said. It’s so logical. It makes so much sense. It is absolutely beyond me why this is such a difficult concept to grasp by some subset of the population.
That was an excellent article and so appropriate.