A Very Simple Recipe For Opening Schools

We all want schools to open in the fall.  Whether or not that happens will be a direct result of one thing: the degree of courage to do the right thing across our communities.

Over the last month, many who previously doubted the science of pandemics have become believers. Governors who rushed to open their states’ economies have realized that the virus does not give a damn for politics, and it thrives in open bars.

But some still lack the courage to do the right thing.  They rant that wearing a mask infringes on their basic rights, as if it were somehow different than not smoking on an airplane or not driving drunk.  They believe that their own comfort or right to doubt science is more important than our kids being able to go back to school.

If we want our schools to open as soon and as normally as possible, we need to:

• Wear masks.
• Respect science.
• Believe the experts.
• Empathize with others.

Is that really too much to ask? Heroes do what is right, not what is easy. Our parents fought Nazis and saved the world. Has America really fallen so far? Or will enough of us “wear masks, etc.” that our schools can be tolerably safe for our students and teachers?