Honor sacrifice, but do not demand it

To the editor:

The March 31 letter written by Mark Agather and published in The Western News (“We must make hard sacrifices to overcome the economic challenges presented by COVID-19”) was perhaps the most ill-advised, reckless and unconscionable diatribe I’ve encountered in all of my years as a Lincoln County resident.

To suggest letting our “younger generations get back to work, get exposed to the virus, develop immunity and get on with their lives,” flies in the face of science, common sense, and is near-criminal, if not criminal in its intent throughout many communities today across the United States. Furthermore, it blatantly disregards the lives of all age groups. Before returning to the crux of such a fallacious argument, let us examine the less harmful, but similarly bereft of logic, views espoused by Agather.

In the first place, the assertion that he, (President Donald Trump), “wants us back to work by Easter Sunday” is highly dated. The Trump Administration is now targeting June 1 as a possible date for when Americans might “return to normalcy.” Even that, at this point, seems rather optimistic.

Mark Agather, after spewing his normal verbiage toward Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer and their “far-left main street media,” suggests that “hopefully, the vast majority of our citizenry will understand our country’s predicament and come together to support all those, including our president, who have done such a great job handling this emergency and not fall prey to the divisive rhetoric from the liberal side of the political spectrum.” Talk about the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.

In fact, most members of the “citizenry,” I would guess, are not interested in assigning political blame for the current COVID-19 crisis. Historians will sort that out over time, and blame will be widely dispersed, I’ve no doubt. Now is not the time to fuel political rivalry and more divisiveness in our community.

Back to the core of his argument: that our younger generation needs to “get exposed to the virus, develop immunity and get on with their lives” at the expense of our older generation. Frankly, those of us who continue to teach, coach and venerate our students to the highest degree would never inflict such a horrendous trial upon them or —it goes without saying — any generation. And teach, coach, mentor, volunteer, contribute to the arts, etc., these are things our generation will continue to do. Father Time does not warrant many of us the luxury of sacrificing ourselves from a position of entitlement. I, for one, have no intention of doing so.

I am so thankful for the sacrifice and guidance provided us throughout this difficult time, especially from the nation’s governors, healthcare workers and first responders — the true heroes amidst this crisis

Tony Smith

Troy