By Ray Cardello for August 2, 2021 Season 2 / Post 49

The American people spent 15 months observing mask mandates. Federal, state, local, everyone took a shot at implementing and enforcing a mask mandate. Indoors, outdoors, youth sports…the rules changed from state to state and town to town. There was no consistency except that the level of government that was pulling strings on the mandate was high on power. That is what we finally learned mask mandates were all about, domination over a group of people.

I drive a school bus. Every day of the school year, up until the final day in June, every kid on the bus wore a mask to and from school. I had to wear a mask even if I was the only person on the bus. We had days where the temperature was pushing 95. There was not a breath of air to find on the bus, but the masks were on and up. How foolish? Every kid was in a low threat age group, and I had been double vaxxed. So follow the science and tell me why anyone on my bus needed a mask. Nobody did. But the school departments were imposing their will on students, drivers, and staff. The last link in the chain is the teachers union imposing their will on the school departments.

The Biden Administration has failed miserably in its effort to get the majority of the population vaccinated. So rather than adopting a positive approach using those vaccinated as an example, they try to mask the whole country. This year, the mask is a tool to be used for punishment. Citing tests conducted in India and spreading false information about vaxxed people contracting COVID, they take the fear approach to get people to take the shots. This approach may work with young children to get them to do what you want. It is not working with the American people.

The problem for Biden started before he was elected. He and Kamala Harris both indicated during the debates and campaign their reluctance to trust a vaccine from Trump. It was a ridiculous comment to make at the time, and they are now paying the price. Trump was not working in the basement of the White House mixing chemicals together to invent the Trump Vaccine. Trump unleashed the might of our corporate ingenuity. In so doing, three manufacturers developed effective vaccines in months rather than years. But the seed of doubt had already been planted in the minds of many Americans. Biden and Harris planted that seed.

Biden was elected on the promise that he was the man who could deliver us from the Pandemic. The problem is that those were just words, and he had no actual plan. Nearly seven months later, that fact still holds. What do they do now? They need to regroup and quickly. Last week, the teachers’ unions indicated that they have a problem with schools opening with students back in the classroom. Immediately, Biden reacted, saying kids will be back in class come September. In a head-to-head battle, the union has shown more power than has Biden. So now we have at least two threats on the table: Teachers may hold out and force remote learning, and mask mandates are already in the works. Neither will be tolerated by a country that does not trust the government or CDC and wants to get back to every day, post-pandemic life.

This deja vu situation need not exist. Our economy will not survive another lockdown. Our children should not have another day stolen from their lives. But this return to 2020 is what we are looking at. The Red states of Florida and Texas, which successfully navigated their people through the Pandemic, are proactive. They are passing bills and signing orders that they will not put their states under mandates or masks. Other states need to follow their lead. I want to think other Governors and states would learn from the past. I fear that is wishful thinking just like hoping Biden can turn this ship around.