Denial Pandemic

 Your civil rights end where my nose begins. -- Pug Mahoney

   It's no surprise that the death toll from virus infections has tripled as people deny the existence of covid and its recent variant.
   However, the good news is that Americans are now rushing to get vaccinated.
   The bad news is that for many of them, it's too late.
   Even so, governors in several states refuse to mandate mask wearing to help reduce infections. Others assail requirements that inoculations are necessary to help protect others.
   "It's an assault on civil liberties," they say.
   But for many decades, there have been government requirements that people be inoculated against diseases. These included measles, mumps, polio and many others. In addition, government has passed many laws to regulate people's actions as a way to prevent disease and death, not least of which is a ban on driving while intoxicated.
   The idea of civil liberties is crucial in maintaining American democracy. But there are limits to dangerous behavior, and government is right to enforce these limits.