By Kevin Roche
I attempt to be straightforward, pretty blunt at times. Here is my Christmas advice: if you are a Minnesotan or a resident of any other state with similar stupid orders, ignore them. At this point it should be obvious to everyone that there is no data or science behind them, quite the opposite. Minnesota is a case in point. We have had to endure every manner of inane policy, none of which make the slightest difference in spread. Look at the recent case curve, and especially the recent hospitalization curve. See any signs of mitigation there. Fortunately these waves tend to be short and cases, especially active cases, are plummeting like the IB’s popularity among bar and restaurant owners.
So, do what you think best, but if you believe you are at some extreme risk of getting infected, right now that just isn’t so. The can’t be even 5000 active cases across the entire state now, and probably more like a couple of thousand. The number of deaths and no longer needing isolation today exceeds total cumulative cases even a week ago. My advice is to enjoy your family and friends and disregard hysteria and fear-mongering. Life is short and these moments don’t last forever. And I hope everyone has learned to be far more distrusting and skeptical of government and so-called experts as a result of this absurd experiment in destroying society, especially childrens’ futures, and an economy with futile efforts to stop a relatively non-threatening pathogen. If there isn’t a serious reckoning for the experts and the political leaders responsible for this fiasco, we will have made a serious mistake. And we must have laws that prevent dictatorships like every state has experienced to some extent in the last year.
So enjoy the holidays but make it your mission for the new year to create change so this can’t happen again.