It’s a sad day.  Marxism is overtaking us.

By Ralph K. Ginorio

The breathtaking arrogance of the Panhandle Health District in voting to impose a mask mandate after a mere twenty minutes of public comment strips their decision of any moral legitimacy.  Hundreds demonstrated to make their opinions heard outside of the Board’s cloistered proceedings, but the Board’s policies admitted very few in to their presence.  Those who were permitted to enter were effectively muzzled by a chaotic and inefficient process of arbitrary speaker selection.  Regardless of how much time or effort one devoted, it was luck of the draw as to who in the public was allowed to speak.  Such a flawed process can only lead to a failed and counterproductive policy.

What I would have told the Board was that this is a political public policy that they were determining, not a medical decision.  I would have urged the Board to resist the temptation to grip hard when so many of us feel off-balance.

If totalitarian measures were effective, then the Chinese Communist Party would have succeeded at something more than allowing this Virus to spread.  Masks are medically ineffective, they are merely symbolic.  Mandatory masking controls people but not the Virus.  This is the antithesis of “We’re all in this together!”

Panhandle Health’s Board, in its conceit, chose to antagonize the public rather than appeal for its help.  Their pronouncement has made enemies of many citizens at just the moment when they needed partners.  Their decision is fractious, ideological, and illegitimate.  It will rightly provoke widespread civil disobedience.

It’s a sad day.  Marxism is overtaking us.