The aged among us may remember a time, many moons ago, when American society embarked on a 15-day quest to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “15 Day To Slow The Spread” was the motto, the marching orders, though we weren’t really marching so much as sitting in our homes, hiding under our beds. Still, they said, the main thing is to steer clear of other people, practice social distancing, and, oh, whatever you do, don’t wear a mask, you dumb rubes. But 15 days came and went. Then they said that we may have to stay locked down until Easter. After that end date proved not to be an end of anything, they said a month. Then two months. And somewhere in there, they decided that you should wear a mask, you dumb rubes. Not only should you wear it, but if you don’t wear the thing they had just told you not to bother wearing, you are a barbarian, a murderer, and unfit for civilized society.
The goal posts kept moving. The lockdowns “ended” but many stifling restrictions were kept in place, and are still in place, from mask mandates to capacity limits at restaurants and other businesses. People like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told us that the “ultimate resolution” wouldn’t arrive until we have a vaccine. Some of the most optimistic and naive among us may have thought that “until there’s a vaccine” was the last goalpost shift, the last “wait, never mind” we would get. But, no. There is infinite space in which to maneuver these goal posts. It seems they can be moved and shifted indefinitely, for all eternity. Which brings us to its latest positioning.
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