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JUAN SALINAS II
senior editor
juan.salinas465@my.tccd.edu
A federal judge in Florida lifted the mask mandate for public transit April 18, making the last domino fall of COVID-era policies.
While some might cheer for joy at this announcement, others might remain fearful. Regardless of the culture war idiocy surrounding this, it’s time to face the reality of the political discourse on the matter. The majority of Americans are ready to move on.
Only 3% of Americans see COVID as an important issue facing the country right now, according to a Gallup poll.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked the Department of Justice to appeal the decision, but if the Biden Administration was smart, it would silently let this pass.
The CDC hasn’t been using science for some of its decisions during COVID. At the beginning of the pandemic, the CDC didn’t recommend using face masks to help prevent the spread.
Months later, it became public that the CDC’s decision to advocate not wearing masks was made to help ensure that health care workers would have enough N95 masks to protect them, according to U.S. chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails.
This just shows how little establishment elites think of the working-class Americans. Instead of telling them the truth about the situation, they lie about it and expect us to just completely forget about it and go along with whatever the CDC says.
While the intention was noble, it was a lie that formed a foundation of distrust in the institution during COVID.
Every time the CDC updates its recommendations, people wonder if the decision was based on science or due to a hidden agenda, such as corporations wanting Americans to return to the office.
The previous administration’s handling of the pandemic is also to blame. This issue should have been bipartisan and brought us closer together as a nation, but it turned into the hottest culture war issue until Ukraine took our attention.
Maybe it would have turned out differently if the federal government had taken the threat seriously and provided actual support for the working class.
Due to the polarization of COVID, we have two extremes. Millions of Americans will never take a widely available vaccine and refuse to wear a mask, and the others will forever wear masks and berate anyone that won’t and will advocate for lockdowns at every turn.
It has dissolved into an issue where there is no in-between. Both parties are not willing to budge and are blaming each other instead of working together for public health.
Local governments will still have a say in COVID policy depending on the population’s needs, but there is just not enough political capital in COVID anymore for national discourse. It’s doubtful that the 2024 presidential election or midterms will focus on COVID policy.
At this point, it is up to the individual to do what is best for them and their families. Instead of doing what was right for the nation, the political machine used COVID to wined up their base, secure donations, and divide us even more.
