Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

My Point of View by John Forman

 

There is only one side to every issue and other opinions are all wrong! If I said that about President Trump, Democrats would be all nodding their heads in unison! Here in Minnesota, we have a governor who has declared a state of emergency, and only his opinion counts and all others are wrong. I don’t see any Democrats nodding anymore.

There are two sides to every issue, and both sides have a responsibility to present their views. Without opposition points of view by our state Rep. Peggy Bennett and our Congressman Jim Hagedorn, what might the governor’s June 1 opening look like?

If he only got input from the CDC and others in favor of shutting everything down, he would have left all business shut down. These groups only look at chances of getting infected and do not look at the resulting devastating effects on the economy.

I am sure opposition to the status quo had an effect on the governor’s decision to open up more. We are continuing to protect our elderly, but these same people could be a resource for the effects of the Great Depression on their lives.

Their stories would tell of no work in their area and husbands and sons having to travel long distances and move away from their families to get work, some staying in hobo camps. Families without enough money to feed their children and in some cases leaving their children at churches just so they would get fed. No money for medicine and hospitals and doctor’s offices closed by economic conditions. Seems to you like an extreme picture of possible economic effects? Well, what about the original estimates of more than 2 million deaths by the other side of the issue?

Someone needs to point out the inequities in the governor’s planned June 1 restrictions. The Walmarts of the world are doing great selling their Chinese-made products. Larger restaurants with larger outdoor areas may be able to make enough money to justify opening outdoors, but small restaurants with only enough space for two or three tables in front of their store on the sidewalk would not be able to make enough money to keep the doors open. Governor Walz suggested cities letting restaurants use parking spaces in front of their restaurants for tables. Are these the same spaces that cities have let the restaurants block off for customer pick-up orders? Don’t see any chances for accidents there, do you? Many of these restaurants have enough room inside to seat four or five groups of four at 25% capacity, same cleaning procedures, social distancing and mask requirements as outside — and they could make enough money to break even. Churches with seating capacity of 400 to 600 or more were still being held to 10-person limit? Without voices from the opposition, Governor Walz would not have gone to a percent of capacity for churches like other places.

Are Democrats still mad at Catholic and conservative denominations about opposition to abortion? Abortion clinics were considered essential services, while all other elective procedures were shut down. We must continue to support and elect conservative voices, like Peggy Bennett, Jim Hagedorn and Gene Dornink to be the opposition to a one-sided system we now have in our state with the governor’s declared state of emergency. The Walmarts of the country are having a record year, but our main street businesses may never come back.

We will continue to protect the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, but things have to open back up. Even Dr. Fauci this week said the lockdown is starting to have diminishing returns and some side effects, such as depression, missed medical check ups and delayed procedures, which may lead to many more health problems. You can still stay home on Sunday morning, but now it is your choice, not a governor’s command.

John Forman is a member of the Freeborn County Republican Party.