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As an 88-year-old, I have been around since the Depression days when my dad worked for the WPA. We lived from the commodities that were the pay for those people. At the end of the Depression came World War II, followed by the great polio epidemic of the 1940s. Next was the Korean conflict and a hitch in the military. We survived!

Never in all the time while working for minimum wages back then have I seen the selfishness and greed that exists in this country today. The people of this state and our country as a whole have shown complete disregard for the authority of those trying to keep us all well during this epidemic. We need to respect our fellow citizens by complying with social distancing and wearing a mask when out in public.

As a nation, we have always recovered when we respected those in charge and not put the mighty buck ahead of our nation’s well-being. The disrespect we are showing health advisers and Gov. Walz of our own state by demanding reopening is going to bring about a new spike, as we are now witnessing in China and states that have opened early — up to 300 new cases a day just for the mighty buck.

We need to go back where what we were doing to give the researchers time to find a vaccine to fight this COVID-19. Over the years of my life, I have seen our country overcome some rough situations, but by working together, we can overcome this one. Social distancing and wear a mask while out of home to protect yourself and those around you. We need to have 100% cooperation to make it happen. Please help save lives! We will overcome! Your time will come, believe me. A little sacrifice now will pay dividends in the future!

Jim Jirele

Albert Lea